


Careful, Elena. Someone might start to think you care.

by MissNMikaelson



Category: The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: Sire Bond
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-26
Updated: 2019-01-01
Packaged: 2019-08-30 00:25:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 32,612
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16754332
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MissNMikaelson/pseuds/MissNMikaelson
Summary: Elena has never been a violent person. She's always cared about others and never once considered taking a life; until the night she did.Only killing an Original is not easy.





	1. The Bond

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own TVD or TO

She yanked the wood from her thigh and allowed herself approximately thirty seconds to heal before flashing into the kitchen. An inhuman shriek escaped her lips, and echoed off the stainless steel appliances; her baby brother was sprawled on the floor at the feet of Kol.

She didn’t stop to think before rushing him. It was likely the element of surprise that allowed her to knock him flat on his back; what new vampire in their right mind would attack an Original?

Elena wasn’t in her right mind though. She could think of nothing but the prone body of her baby brother and taking vengeance for his demise.

Kol allowed her to get a couple of blows in before flipping her over. His hands grasped her wrists and pinned them above her head. He slotted his knee between her legs and used his body to trap her against the cold tile of the kitchen.

“You can continue to struggle, darling,” his breath fanned across her cheek, “or we could have a civilized conversation.”

 “You just killed my brother,” Elena spat. Her flesh tingled under his touch.

“Do you take me for a fool, love?” He scoffed. “I’ve no intention of suffering the hunter’s curse.” He shifted and pinned her leg when she moved to bring up her knee; “listen, Elena.”

She struggled against his much stronger grip before following his instructions. Focusing her senses she picked up the dripping water from the tap, the gentle humming of the fridge, and the steady beating of three hearts: two vampires and one human.

“I did not kill him,” Kol met her confused gaze, “and I e no intention of killing him… at least not myself. He did try to kill me and I can’t allow that to go unpunished.”

“Leave him alone, Kol,” Elena inhaled a shaky breath, “it wasn’t his idea.”

“So you’re the mastermind behind this plot,” his eyes flickered over her pale face. “Tell me darling is the cure really worth it? Do you even know how many vampires would have died if your brother had succeeded?”

“No,” Elena shook her head.

“No you don’t know, or no it is not worth it?” A line appeared between his brows; he had not been expecting her to see her own insanity.

“Both,” Elena exhaled. The fight went out of her limbs as she succumbed to her fate. “If you’re going to kill me just do it.”

“I'm not going to kill you, Elena,” he sighed. “I want to know what you were thinking. What led you to this bloody decision?”

Her insides trembled as her head swam with confusion. Damon had been the one to bring up the cure; he had suggested that killing an Original would be the fastest way to complete Jeremy's tattoo, and the easiest Original to kill would be the one in possession of the stake. Finding the cure would be the fastest way to fix her.

She told all of this to Kol in a rush. If he hadn’t been an Original vampire he likely wouldn’t have understood a single word that escaped her lips, but with his enhanced hearing he caught it all.

“Fix you,” he gave her a disbelieving look. “Darling, aside from your clearly poor taste in men there is nothing wrong with you.”

He could see it in her glistening eyes; she hadn’t wanted to do it.

“Yes there is,” she blinked back her tears. “The hunter was right: I’m a monster.”

Kol sighed and made a mental note to review his life choices later because surely he should have been torturing her for the failed murder plot before ripping out her heart. Instead he was sitting back up and rubbing her shoulder gently.

“You are not a monster, Elena,” he tipped up her chin to meet her dark eyes, “and you definitely shouldn’t listen to anything the hallucinations might have told you.”

“Everyone around me dies, Kol,” she shook her head sadly, “and it’s always my fault. I was going to kill you tonight.”

“Technically your brother was going to do it,” he looked at the unconscious body of Jeremy Gilbert.

“Because I told him to.”

“And who told you?” Kol cocked an eyebrow.

“Damon,” she frowned, “but what does that have to do with anything?”

Kol nodded slowly and turned to stare at a family photo on the fridge. It depicted a happy group all crowded together in the frame; he wondered where her carefree smile had gone.

“Would I be correct in assuming it was Damon Salvatore’s blood that turned you?” He watched her nod from the corner of his eye and fingered the stake tucked safely in his pocket. “How familiar are you with sire bonds Elena? Because I don’t believe you’re a killer.”

♤♡◇♧

Elena sat on her sofa with her knees curled beneath her and watched the fire crackle and pop in the hearth. Kol had left the house shortly before Jeremy had woken up, and he had made sure to take the stake with him _._

♤♡◇♧

_“Where is he?” Jeremy looked around frantically as if expecting the Original to pop up from behind the counter and finish what he had started._

_“Gone,” Elena hugged her knees to her chest. Her gaze was focused on the smooth tile of the floor._

_“Gone to compel somebody to kill me?” Jeremy got to his feet and pulled a bottle of water from the fridge. “What's the plan now?” He paused mid-sip and turned to stare at his sister. “He left you alive.”_

_Elena moved her head to nod but ended up shaking it halfway through so it appeared that she was bobbing from side to side, moving in circles; not unlike her scattered thoughts._

_“Elena,” Jeremy knelt beside her on the floor, “what do you want to do?”_

♤♡◇♧

What did she want to do? She felt confident that if Kol had not taken the stake she would have formulated another plan, but was that what she wanted? The thought of taking his life made her feel physically ill; it always had, but she had pushed through that feeling and swallowed her rising bile.

Was it what she wanted, or was it what Damon had suggested?

_“She needs blood: from the vein.”_

She hadn’t been able to keep any form of blood down. When she had turned she had wanted to stick to a vegetarian diet in order to avoid hurting humans, but everything she tried to drink kept coming back up: animal blood, vampire blood, and blood bags.

_“If I’m not worried you shouldn’t be worried.”_

She had been worried sick about Jeremy's whereabouts during the Miss Mystic Falls pageant, but Damon had put her at ease. He had told her to let it go and she had; not even Caroline had been able to calm her down.

_“Then you need to be smart. He doesn’t know you’re a vampire; you get as close as you can and kill him.”_

For as long as she could remember she had always held life in the highest of regards. She wasn’t a killer. She had never been capable of seeing a true reason why anyone should have their life stolen away from them. She had never contemplated murder and yet she had done it. She had killed the hunter after Damon had told her to; it had made perfect sense at the time. She hadn’t even thought about it until she was standing over Connor's corpse; that was when she had fallen apart. That was when guilt had clawed at her intestines and her scalp had pricked with shame. That was the moment she had seen herself as a monster.

And she had been prepared to do it again. She had been ready to kill Kol; part of her still wanted to while the rest of her screamed no.

She wasn’t a killer; she didn’t want to be a killer. Even feeding from Matt made her heart ache.

Had Kol been right _?_

♤♡◇♧

_“It happens with hybrids…” She tilted her head and swiped at her traitorous eyes._

_“It can occur with vampires, darling,” he bent his knee and propped his elbow on it. “It’s extremely rare but it can happen provided the right conditions are met. One vampire can be sired to another; they follow every order given to them rather it’s direct or indirect.”_

_“What are the conditions?” Elena swallowed and met his dark eyes. Surely they should have been murderous after what she had planned to do, but try as she might she could see no malicious intent._

_He heaved a sigh that almost sounded disappointed and frowned._

_“With hybrids the bond is brought on by gratitude,” his fingers tapped his shin, “but with vampires it’s tied to emotions. A bond will form when feelings exist in the human prior to turning.”_

_“So If Stefan's blood had turned me…”_

_“You’d likely be in the same position,” he shook his head, “but towards the other brother. Any vampire you had romantic feelings for could have turned you and you’d be in this exact same position.”_

♤♡◇♧

Sired. Sired. Sired.

It repeated in her head like a mantra all the way to the boarding house. She was sired to Damon.

At first she hadn’t wanted to believe it, but the more she had considered the possibility the more sense it had made. Did Damon know? Did Damon suspect? Was that why he was so intent on ‘fixing’ her? Was that why he wanted the cure?

She couldn’t be sired to him if she wasn’t a vampire.

She slammed on her brakes. Gravel flew up and scattered across the green lawn; a few pieces dinged the blue car a few inches in front of her vehicle.

She jumped out of the Jeep and stomped across the yard. Her sneakers made hollow thumps over the deck.

She didn’t bother knocking; she hadn’t knocked on this particular door in months.

Stefan and Caroline spun around when she stormed into the living room and up the stairs. She ignored their surprised cries and made her way down the hall.

The heavy door banged against the wall and succeeded in making Damon jump away from his dresser.

“Elena,” his shirt fell open on either side of his chest. “This is an unexpected surprise,” he smirked and stepped towards her.

She took a step back, held up a hand and collided with the wall. She bit down on her lip to keep it from trembling, but he saw the emotions flashing in her eyes.

“What’s wrong?” He tilted his head and looked her over.

“Am… am I…” Elena took a deep breath and tried again. “Am I sired to you?”

Damon didn’t answer, but the admission was in his eyes. Suddenly it wasn’t fear or sadness making her body quiver.

“How long have you known?” She crossed her arms.

“I didn’t know, Elena,” he shook his head.

“Alright, fine,” she snapped, “how long have you suspected?”

Damon hesitated. She could hear his heart pounding in his chest and the audible gulp when he swallowed.

“I thought maybe… maybe when you couldn’t keep the blood down…”

“Before you told me to kill Connor,” her pulse slammed in her neck, “before I broke his neck; before you made me a murderer.”

Her voice had grown louder with each syllable and drawn Stefan and Caroline to the door.

Caroline would be the first to admit that seeing Elena go off the rails and slap Damon was extremely amusing, and satisfying. She couldn’t count the number of times that she had wanted to haul off and hit the elder Salvatore.

“I told you so,” Caroline turned to Stefan.

“You knew?” Elena spun on her heel and began advancing towards her friend. Her eyes grew round; she forced back the onslaught of tears. “You knew about this?”

Caroline straightened up and shook her head.

“I suspected, I didn’t know,” the blonde swallowed. “That’s what I came over here to talk to Stefan about.”

“You’ll talk to him, but not me,” Elena shook her head. She could feel herself growing hysterical.

“I thought something was wrong,” Caroline crossed her arms. “I wanted to make sure before I brought it up with you. I wanted to find a solution first.”

“She just wanted to help, Elena,” Stefan interjected. “We both do.”

“No,” she shook her head, “you don’t want to help me, Stefan. You want to fix me. You want me to be that sweet little, helpless human. You all do, and I’m sick of it.”

“Elena, calm down,” Damon finished buttoning his shirt.

Against her will she felt her heart rate begin to slow; her descent down the stairs was silent. She made no move to listen to Stefan or Caroline’s pleas that she stay put in the boarding house; luckily Damon kept his mouth shut until she was gone.

If he had asked her to stay she didn’t hear him over the crunch of gravel beneath her tires.

♤♡◇♧

She knew she should want to scream and pitch a fit, but she was calm. She knew it was because of Damon; because he had told her to calm down, but she decided to think of it as the calm before the storm.

She wanted to know what her true feelings were, but how could she know for sure. The presence of Damon’s blood in her system had amplified her emotions during the transition, so understanding how she felt seemed impossible.

It could have easily been Stefan. Would she have noticed if it was?

Why couldn’t it have been Klaus’ blood? She definitely wouldn’t have been in this position then.

She contemplated her options as she drove through the empty streets of Mystic Falls. She could only come up with one viable solution.

Elena brought her car to a gentle stop and stepped out of the vehicle. She closed the door with a little more force than was strictly necessary and climbed the stairs to knock; she might have walked straight in had it not been for her lack of an invitation.

She knocked again when there was no answer. She knocked hard enough to temporarily bruise her knuckles.

She crossed her arms over her chest and listened to the shuffling footsteps as they drew closer and closer to the door.

“Elena?” Bonnie blinked tiredly and pulled her sweater closed against the winter chill. “What are you doing here? It’s the middle of the night.”

“I need your help,” she sighed. “I need a witch.”

“Come on in,” Bonnie stepped back to let her friend enter the house. “What’s wrong?”

Elena settled on the couch with Bonnie. She wrung her hands together told the young witch everything that she had found out in the last twenty-four hours.

“You want me to break it,” Bonnie searched the new vampire’s gaze.

Elena swallowed and nodded.

“I want you to try, please,” she let out a shaky breath. “I don’t know what I feel anymore, Bon. I want to know that what I feel is real, or if it’s just been heightened in the transition. Do I love him, or is it a result of my conflicted emotions before I turned? He said I could have just as easily been bonded to Stefan.”

“I’m gonna be honest ‘Lena,” Bonnie pushed her hair back from her face, “I’ve never heard of something like this happening before. I’ve never seen anything like it in my grimoire, but I’ll look into it for you.”

“Thank you, Bon,” Elena nodded. A line appeared between her brows when Bonnie opened her mouth as if to say something more and closed it. “What is it?”

“It’s just…” Bonnie pressed her lips together and drew in a deep breath. “It seems like the person to really ask about this is a vampire… a vampire who knows about this sort of thing.” She tilted her head. “Kol gave you some answers; maybe he could give you more.”

“I think I pretty much exhausted him,” Elena shrugged, “and I don’t think I should be around him until this is sorted out. I tried to kill him… I tried to get Jeremy to kill him, and until I can know for sure that I’m not going to do that again I don’t want to be near him or any other Original who could finish the mark without killing everyone I care about. I don’t want anyone to die.”

♤♡◇♧

Three weeks; it had been three weeks since she had seen either of the Salvatores. She hadn’t spoken to them or Caroline. She’d been rushing out of every class she shared with Stefan or Caroline and walked away when they approached.

Her constant battle with her emotions kept her confined to her home for the most part. The only immortal she ever saw was Klaus when he would inevitably show up with a vampire for Jeremy to kill.

Elena turned her gaze from the ceiling and the gentle turning of her ceiling fan. Her phone was buzzing incessantly on the nightstand; she reached for it and held it to her ear.

“Hey Bon.”

 _“Hey,”_ Bonnie’s voice sounded tired. _“I’ve searched everywhere and finally came up with an answer. The only way to break a sire bond is for the vampire to be commanded to forget about the sire and move on with their life.”_

“I don’t want to forget him, Bonnie,” she rubbed the back of her neck, “and even if I did he’d never do that.”

 _“I agree,”_ Bonnie sighed. _“Damon is essentially obsessed with you; he’d never tell you to forget about him.”_

“So that leaves me sired,” Elena closed her eyes.

_“I’m sorry, ‘Lena. I know you really wanted to break the bond, but… there’s no other way. Not that I could find.”_

“Thanks Bonnie,” she shook her head and opened her eyes. “I got to go.”

She hung up the phone and released a shaky breath. Her emotions were truly getting on her nerves. She could blame everything that had happened since turning on them.

She was starting to see the appeal of turning it off.

Elena shot up in bed.

♤♡◇♧

“So what you’re telling me is that: you’ve lost your mind,” Jeremy took a drink of his water. “You can’t turn off your humanity, ‘Lena. That’s what makes you… well you.”

Elena blinked slowly and leaned back in her chair.

“There’s no other way, Jeremy.” She ran her tongue over her teeth; the telltale ache had started in her gums. She would have to feed soon. “The bond was created by my supposed feelings for Damon when I was human, and his blood. I can’t do a thing about his blood, but I can do something about my feelings.”

She ran her fingertip along the kitchen counter.

“Vampirism comes with a few perks,” she hummed, “like that handy little switch. No more emotions, no more bond.”

“So what?” Jeremy held the counter and leaned over the island to meet her eyes. “You’re going to turn it off and then turn it back on?”

“That was the plan,” Elena tilted her head.

“Was?” Jeremy’s brows shot up. He leaned back and searched her almost bored expression. “You already did it, didn’t you?”

“I even tested my theory,” Elena nodded and lifted a half-drunk blood bag from her pocket. The veins under her eyes pulsed as she drank down the rest. It quenched her thirst, but she found herself craving something a little warmer.

“Then turn it back on,” Jeremy fought down his sick feeling. He hadn’t gotten used to seeing her feed yet, and the fact that he could actually see the entire act was making him nauseous. “You can drink from a blood bag; that means it worked.”

“Yes it did,” Elena tossed the empty plastic in the trash and licked her lips, “but I think I’m going to leave them off.”

Jeremy felt his heart drop into his stomach. The sick feeling only grew with each word she said.

“You know I used to feel guilty,” she leaned back against the counter, “because I survived the crash and mom and dad didn’t. I hated myself. It’s been a never-ending cycle of death ever since; all I ever did was grieve. I grieved for mom and dad, I grieved for Jenna and John, I grieved for Ric, and my own lost life. I was practically torn in two by Stefan and Damon because I thought I loved them, and I couldn’t figure out which one I loved more, but the truth is I don’t care for either of them.”

“That’s because you don’t care about anything right now,” Jeremy shook his head.

“Do you remember what I was like before the car crash… the first one,” she clarified. “I used to be way more fun; I was into everything: very busy. I want to get back to that girl again. I spent all my time caring for everyone else; it’s time I started caring about me. I’m going to do what I want, when I want, and right now I want something to eat.”

She flashed out of the kitchen and into her bedroom to change before leaving the house. She was in her car before Jeremy could stop her and steering the vehicle out of town in search of a vervain free food supply.

“Shit,” Jeremy ran his hand back through his hair and watched her tail lights vanish into the distance. He pulled his phone from his pocket and scrolled through his contacts. The call connected on the third ring. “It’s me… I need your help… Elena flipped the switch… I’m scared she’s going to do something she’ll wind up regretting.”


	2. New Girl in Town

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own TVD or TO. This chapter kind of came out of nowhere if I'm honest with you because I started and intended to cut to another scene when I just kept going.
> 
> This is the warning for SMUT. Elena without her humanity has no sense of modesty or decency and as she said in the show she wants what she wants and she takes what she wants. So I sort of explored that side of things in more detail then I originally meant to.
> 
> Seriously y'all the smut is smutty and dirtier than I've ever written and if you don't like then skip to the first line break.
> 
> There... you have been sufficiently warned of the adult content.

Three inch heels; she had never felt confident enough to wear them before, but now she strode across the edge of the dancefloor with ease. She could feel the eyes on her from several corners of the room; they ran up her long legs towards her face and lingered on several areas in between.

It was by design. She had deliberately worn the sexiest clothes from her admittedly lackluster wardrobe: black skinny jeans, a plunging red tank, and the red three inch heels that she was certain once belonged to Caroline. They were hers now.

The best way to attract her food was to look like prey, and she looked like an all-you-could-eat-buffet. She made a mental note to upgrade her wardrobe the next day, or maybe the day after.

She might be busy for the next few days. Her eyes locked on the bar and the people milling about its sticky surface.

"I'll have one red headed slut," she flashed the bartender a smirk. Elena's eyes darted to the slim woman on her right. She winked and allowed her eyes to dart down; she could see the freckles vanishing under the woman's shimmering top.

"I'll need to see some ID."

Her head whipped back around to the bartender. Meeting his pale blue eyes her pupils dilated slightly.

"No, you don't," her lips remained in a smirk.

He set to work fixing the drink: cranberry juice, peach snapps and Jägermeister.

"That'll be…"

"Free?" Elena tilted her head.

"On the house," he slid the shot across the bar.

Elena lifted the glass to her lips and downed the shot.

"Woo," she cheered. The alcohol burned on the path down her throat, and for one brief moment she knew the haze of a buzz but then her advanced healing kicked in. She'd probably have to down half the bottle before getting truly tipsy, but that didn't mean she couldn't act it.

She reached out and placed a friendly hand on the woman's freckled arm. Leaning in she giggled and whispered conspiratorially.

"I love red headed sluts," her finger trailed up the other woman's arm, "but they're gone so quickly." She heard her heart skip a beat and recognized the telltale smell of lust fueling her blood. She wondered how the emotion would change the taste of the life giving liquid. "Do you know where I could find another?"

"I might have an idea," she shivered and looked Elena over slowly.

Elena ran her finger down the smooth flesh teasing the sensitive skin before grasping the slim fingers and tugging the girl onto the dancefloor.

The moment they began dancing Elena felt more eyes find them. Nothing drew the male gaze like two women grinding on each other in the middle of a crowded club.

Elena's hands slid down around her rolling hips and leaned closer to whisper in her ear.

"What's your name?" She didn't really care, but she wanted to ensure the woman knew she was talking to her.

"Ava."

"Well Ava," Elena leaned back and met her twinkling blue eyes, "no matter what happens tonight between us I want you to stay quiet; don't scream. And if you decide you've enjoyed yourself you can come back tomorrow night."

The poor little lamb nodded eagerly thinking she'd be making noise for another reason. Elena suspected Ava had a submissive side. She took the red head's hand and spun her around to pull her flush against her chest.

Elena heard the softest of moans from the other girl. Her hands slid down the flat stomach as they twisted together sinuously. One slipped beneath the shimmery material to tease toned skin as the other moved back up and held Ava's slim throat.

She began laying kisses on the skin before her. She licked and nipped the shell of Ava's ear while her fingers dipped lower beneath the mini skirt and into the scrap of lace that made up her underwear. Damon and Stefan both had trouble finding the sensitive little nub but she located it in a jiffy.

Bodies pressed in on them from every side blocking them from view. Through the tangle of limbs nobody could see what she was really doing to the red head.

"Do you like this?" Elena scraped Ava's clit with her nail.

Ava nodded in response since she wasn't allowed to speak. Her reward was for Elena to firmly circle the swollen nub.

Elena's long fingers dipped into the other girl's pussy and pumped. She smirked on finding her to be dripping wet; it was enough to send a flood of arousal to her panties.

"Are you someone who likes getting caught, Ava?" Elena whispered in the girl's ear and chuckled darkly when she shook her head. "Don't lie to me slut."

Ava turned her shake to a nod and shuddered when Elena began toying with her clit again.

Years of playing with herself and the knowledge that Ava liked the thought of being caught in public allowed her anonymous lover to push her to the edge quickly. Elena dipped her fingers beneath the neckline of Ava's top and tweaked her braless nipple; she played with the sensitive bud and swollen clit until Ava was strung up high.

Elena could feel the tension in the girl's body and dropped her lips to Ava's neck. They had long since stopped dancing allowing the other bodies in the club to push against them as they were locked together on the floor.

Her lips teased Ava's fluttering pulse. She slipped her fingers into the sopping wet cunt and pressed firmly on Ava's g-spot while furiously flicking her clit.

The moment her walls fluttered Elena began pumping at vampire speed to prolong the red head's earthshattering orgasm and sank her teeth into Ava's neck.

Elena moaned at the glorious flavor that flowed through her mouth and down into her stomach. It was hot and spicy. Elena decided she liked lust fueled blood; it fueled her own lust.

She pulled her teeth free and licked the trail of blood until only the teeth marks remained on the smooth throat.

Ava lifted her hand slowly to hold her neck and gasped as Elena pulled her fingers free of her wet folds.

The brunette released the red head's body and slid between the writhing bodies before Ava could turn around and ask. Later she would look at the marks in the mirror and feel a fresh wave of arousal while wondering what had actually occurred on the dance floor and why she felt so light headed.

Elena smirked when hands grasped her hips from behind and she felt a hard cock grinding against her ass.

"That was hot," a husky voice breathed in her ear.

She contemplated breaking the man's wrists but then he ground into her behind again. With a coy smile she glanced over her shoulder and pulled the man off the floor into a dark corner.

"It was wasn't it?" She purred and ran her hand down his hard chest. She could feel the well-defined muscles of his abs quiver beneath her fingertips; this was going to be fun. "But you know what the problem is?"

He shook his head and held his breath.

"Now I'm all hot and bothered," she unfastened his tight jeans, "and you are too." She freed his hard cock and pumped him with her right hand; her fingers and palm were still covered in Ava's juices so he was quickly lubed up and ready for what she had in mind. "Do you think we could help each other out?"

Elena tilted her head to give him access to her throat when he leant down. She hummed and pumped his cock slowly as his lips worked quickly to the tops of her breasts.

He pulled her tank down until the tips of her nipples were exposed and bit roughly tugging the hard pebbles with his teeth.

Elena used her free hand to press him firmly to her supple flesh and moaned wantonly; she had always liked it a little rough and he was tugging on her sensitive nipples, only a vampire could have been rougher.

She almost admired his forwardness when he pushed her into the darkest corner against a wall.

"You like it rough, slut?"

"Let's not forget who's in charge here," Elena squeezed his cock until he hissed in pain.

"Yes, ma'am," he thrust into her palm.

"Good," Elena swiped her thumb over the tip and spread his pre-cum around his head. "Now that we've established that I'll tell you: I do like it rough. I want you to fuck me hard and fast right here in this corner. What do you think of that?"

She didn't bother with compulsion since she had him right where she wanted him. His quick nod told her he would do whatever she said.

"Marvelous," she released his shaft, licked her palm and returned to pumping him. She added a little twist in her wrist that drove him wild. "Do you know why I'm getting you nice and wet?" She met his lidded eyes when he shook his head.

"Because…" she let him go and unfastened her jeans. "I…" she began to shimmy her hips and spin around, "… want you…" her panties slipped down to expose her firm cheeks, "… to fuck me…" she grabbed the flawless flesh and pulled exposing her puckered hole, "… right here."

She looked back over her shoulder and spoke loud enough for him to hear.

"Do you want to fuck my tight little asshole?" She moaned when his dick ran through her folds and circled her clit. The gasp that fell from her lips was surprised when he thrust into her dripping cunt and fucked her hard twice. "Are you telling me that you're a guy who doesn't fantasize about bending a girl over and shoving your prick in her ass?"

"No," he pulled his dick free with a grunt and ensured he was concealing her body, "I just wanted a little more lube." His fingers prodded her puckered hole stretching the ring of muscle slightly.

His preparation was hardly necessary or worthwhile since the muscle sprang back when he moved his hands to grasp her hips. Elena relaxed the muscle when he lined himself up and rocked back as he pushed forward with a hard thrust.

The pounding music drowned out their voices. Only a vampire could have heard them over the thumping bass.

"Oh… fuck me," she cried out and fell forward to hug the wall. He had pressed two inches of his dick in her tight ass and at first it hurt, but by the time he was buried in her darkest passage her vampire healing had kicked in and she felt nothing but pleasure.

"I intend to," he moaned into her ear. His hot breath fanned over her neck and made her shudder.

"Fuck my slutty little asshole," she turned her neck and breathed raggedly. Her breath caught when he pressed his mouth firmly to hers and thrust his tongue in and out imitating the quick motion of his dick that was rocking into her as fast as he was capable of going; his balls slapping her cunt with each snap of his hips.

She pressed her forehead to the wall and moaned when he released her lips. The old Elena would have never admitted to enjoying this, but the new Elena the one without emotions was a slave to her own body. She wanted what she wanted and she would take it when she wanted it where she wanted it.

Her back arched into him as he fucked up into her ass at a glorious pace. His fingers dug into the flesh of her hips and pulled her down harder every time he buried himself in her. She hadn't looked before but she knew he had to be big as he was reaching deep into her bowels.

She slid her hands up and down her body. Her deft fingers pressed firmly against her clit and pinched her hard nipple. She worked herself to her orgasm. If only her lover were a tad bit stronger his dick alone would have done the job but she found herself in need of a bit more.

A few minutes later she screamed as she came. Her juices squirted out to coat his balls and the top of his jeans.

He groaned as a tingle began at the base of his spine and bent forward to breathe hotly against her ear.

"I'm gonna come," he grunted and thrust into her ass hard. "Where do you want me to?"

Elena straightened her spine and pushed him back with her hands. She spun around and looked this way and that before smirking and dropping to her knees. She met his eyes and wrapped her full lips around the tip of his dick.

She was immediately greeted with the combined taste of him and her. The flavor of her pussy was well known since she had often blown Stefan after he made her cum. The taste of her ass was different, but the further down his shaft she went the more she enjoyed it; it was getting her worked up again.

She bobbed her head up and down quickly and swallowed his cum when he blew his load in her warm, wet mouth. A small amount of him dripped from the corner of her lip and down her chin as she stood up.

"That was fun," she kissed him soundly and buried her tongue in his mouth. "Would you care to join me back at my hotel for some more?" She tucked him back into his jeans and pouted. "My poor pussy feels neglected after you fucked my ass so well."

* * *

The next morning Elena sent Daniel on his way after healing him. He had plowed all of her holes and deposited several large loads of cum during the course of the night and then licked her clean. She had bitten him and nearly drained him when he was at the peak of his arousal several times.

The only thing that kept her from killing him was the knowledge that the club was an excellent place to find a quick meal and someone would track the missing person back to there. Besides: why do away with part of her supply when she might call him up again? She'd taken his number in case.

After all, he was good in bed.

* * *

"Did you find her yet?"

Bonnie rolled her eyes and returned to her map of the country. She really had no desire to help Damon but she knew he was right. They had to find Elena before she did something she would regret the moment her humanity came back on.

"What's your plan for making her flip the switch?" Bonnie glanced up from her spell.

"There are a lot of ways," Stefan toyed with a bundle of sage. "We'll start by trying to reason with her."

"And if that doesn't work?" Bonnie pushed her hair back behind her ears.

"We'll try to summon some emotion," Damon crossed his arms. "If one leaks through the block of ice they all follow."

"Let's hope it doesn't come to that," Bonnie scribbled down an address and stood up.

"She hates being manipulated," Jeremy took the keys. He cast Bonnie a sideways look. "Why'd you tell them anyway?"

"I was yelling at Damon when you called," Bonnie sighed.

"About?" Jeremy cocked an eyebrow.

"Elena," Damon pulled the door shut and followed towards the car. "Judgey here went and told her about the way to break the sire bond after I told her."

"You should have just done it," Bonnie snapped when they were in the car. "You knew, before Elena realized she was sired to you, how to break it."

"You what?" Jeremy spun around.

"I recognize that I screwed up," Damon rolled his eyes. He didn't sound in the least remorseful. "But I couldn't do that to Elena."

"Couldn't or wouldn't?" Bonnie rolled her eyes.

Jeremy choked down his anger and looked at his ex-girlfriend.

"Why are they here now?"

"Because…" Bonnie hesitated before meeting his eyes, "… I don't know the first thing about getting a vampire to turn their humanity back on and they do."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do you think?
> 
> I didn't have her compel anyone for a reason because even without emotions she doesn't think she needs compulsion for this. The combination of alcohol and hormones are more than enough for her to get what she wants.


	3. Catching up with Miss Gilbert

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own TVD or TO.
> 
> There is some smut in this chapter as well. This'll be the last instance of it for a while.

The supple leather of the black jacket clung to her arms and fell open in the front revealing the magenta t-shirt that dipped low. The shirt covered the top of her black skirt that clung to her legs, but was still comfortable enough to move around in. She had tied the entire look together with black ankle boots. The buckles glinted in the flashing lights of the club. The neon colours bounced off the silver buttons of her jacket to reflect off the bodies of everyone she passed.

A strong hand grabbed her elbow a few feet from the door. She spun around to face the man and cocked an eyebrow.

"A gorgeous gal like you shouldn't be leaving alone," his grey eyes dropped to her chest.

A few days ago she would have definitely been offended and very weirded out by his salacious gaze; there was something corrupt in his eyes and the way he held himself. She'd heard whispers of this guy and his horrendous actions towards women; nothing ever stuck because he was the son of a city official. She had practically seen Ava's spine tingling when he had fastened the pair of them with a manic look.

"Where's your girlfriend?" He took her hips and pulled her flush against him.

She glanced down to where she could feel him against her thigh; he grew hard when she stretched up and breathed against his ear.

"She's not my girlfriend," her fingers danced over his chest, "just a girl I hook up with."

"I heard about the bathroom," his hands slid down to squeeze her ass.

"Really?" She tilted her head. Her eyes spotted the red head at the bar; it hadn't taken Ava long to find Elena in the club, and even less time for the pair to slip into the graffiti covered bathroom stall.

"Or rather," he leaned down and bit her ear, "I heard you through the door. I think I can make you scream louder."

"How's your tongue?" Elena leaned back and looked him up and down slowly before meeting his grey eyes. "Because hers was wicked."

She could see him picturing Ava kneeling on the bathroom floor between her legs. The actual memory was enough to warm her up, but she had something else in mind.

She didn't stop him from grabbing her wrist and placing her slim hand over the hard ridge in his pants. His hot breath fanned over her ear.

"I got something better than a tongue."

"We'll see," Elena hummed. She backed away while maintaining eye contact for several paces before turning around and exiting the club.

Her heels clicked on the concrete slab of the sidewalk as she moved out of the streetlights. She made it ten paces before she heard someone coming up behind her.

Once again strong hands took hold of her hips but this time she was pulled sideways into the dark alley. It was the kind of alley she would have seen in a horror film. A fire escape ended a half dozen feet above a green dumpster that blocked the light from the street. That was where he pushed her.

Her hands came up instinctively to catch her weight and keep her body from colliding with the rough wall. The heavy bass from the club pounded through the barrier. She glanced over her shoulder when his hands rucked up her skirt.

Cold air swirled around her exposed skin and cooled her hot center, but even in the dark alley she knew he could see how wet she was.

"No underwear?" His hand came down on her ass.

"I left them in her purse," she winked. Her sensitive ears easily picked up the ripping sound of his zipper being pulled down. She waited until she could feel his erection trailing through her folds before straightening up and turning around. "Wait."

"I don't wait for anyone," he growled and held her throat.

Elena felt her airway block as his free hand forced itself between her thighs. She grabbed his wrist and moved his hand from her throat down to her heaving breast.

"You have no patience," her eyes narrowed, "and one day," she hooked her leg around his waist, "it would have gotten you into trouble."

"Would have…." His voice trailed off in a strangled groan.

Elena arched her hips and ground against him while leaning forward to kiss his throat. Her teeth nipped at his Adam's apple while her center rubbed against his hard cock.

"Mmm," she licked her lips and felt her fangs descend, "it would have." She pulled back so he could see her face and smirked when the blood drained from his cheeks.

"What the fuck?" He moved to push her away and gasped when she gripped his chin.

"Hold still," her pupils dilated, "and don't scream."

His body immediately stopped moving as his eyes widened with fear.

"Don't worry honey," she trailed her fingers down his cheek, "I'm gonna save you some future trouble."

Her mouth opened wide to expose her glinting fangs to his terrified gaze. She gave the sight a moment to sink in before using vampire speed to spin them around and slip her teeth into his throat.

Fear, as the Salvatores had said, made the blood sweeter.

Elena had never had much of a sweet tooth, but after indulging in the hottest food imaginable it was a nice palette cleanser; like going for ice cream after leaving the Indian restaurant. She did love spicy food, but it was nice to mix it up once and a while.

The decadence of his blood washed over her and made her feel positively delirious. As the liquid drained from his body he went limp; it took less than a minute for his heart to slow. Normally she would have stopped at that point, healed him and sent him on his way, but his blood was scrumptious.

She dropped him in an unceremonious heap when his heart stopped and licked the velvety liquid from her lips. Using the toe of her boot she turned him over and tilted her head. Her lidded eyes roamed his still frame, while she adjusted her skirt, and widened when she reached his crotch.

"Brings a whole new meaning to the term rigour mortis, doesn't it?" The voice coughed behind her.

Elena looked over her shoulder and used her heel to poke the dead guy's still hard cock.

"I was wondering when you two would show up," she turned slowly. Her thumb caught a bead of blood running down her chin.

"Didn't we teach you not to play with your food?" Damon crossed his arms and looked down.

"So you're of the do as I say and not as I do variety?" Elena looked between the Salvatores. She had thought Jeremy would find her first and that he would probably bring Bonnie with him.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Damon hoisted the body up and into the dumpster; it had become clear that Elena wasn't going to clean up after herself.

"You play with your food all the time," Elena leaned against the dumpster, "or are you forgetting about Caroline? Then Andie?" She kept an ear on Stefan who had yet to say anything. "And I'm pretty sure Stefan loves playing with his food. I seem to recall hearing all about bodies literally torn apart and then pieced together."

"I don't do that anymore," Stefan crossed his arms. "I didn't have my humanity, and if you'll recall I was under the influence of Klaus."

"Not even Klaus does that," she turned her gaze to her ex-boyfriend and cocked an eyebrow.

"You know you could just play with a Mr. Potato Head," she drawled in a bored manner, "or paper dolls. You know… since you've got that whole humanity thing; I tell you though," She looked between them, "life is pretty sweet without it."

"You don't feel anything for this guy," Damon gestured to the dumpster.

"No," she shook her head. "Actually…" she held up her finger, "… I regret killing him so fast. He had promised to make me scream."

"Is this what you've been doing the last few days," Stefan stepped back and met her disinterested eyes.

"It's what I've been doing the last few hours," Elena held up her fingers as she counted: "eating, sleeping, fucking…" She lifted her foot. Stefan was close enough that she could trail her toes up his leg. "And shopping of course since I had nothing to wear; I thought I'd upgrade my wardrobe."

"Why?" Damon looked her over. The clothes were of a higher quality then she typically wore, and was much more revealing; any lower and she would have been considered indecent.

"Attraction," Elena shrugged as if it were obvious. "I thought I'd try my hand at getting blood without compulsion."

"You haven't compelled anyone?" Stefan caught her ankle when she reached his inner thigh.

"I've compelled the bartenders," Elena motioned to the club behind them, "but only because I didn't think to get a fake ID. And I compelled some of the staff at the mall."

"You left your purse behind so we kind of figured that," Damon rolled his eyes.

Elena rolled her neck around to look at him. Her eyes darted between the brothers.

"Jeremy wasn't lying," Stefan's jaw clenched, "you've turned it off."

"Score one for Saint Stefan," Elena nodded. She tilted her head and blinked slowly. The one thing that seemed to remain after flipping the switch was her curiosity; she was Pandora and she was surrounded by boxes. "What are you two doing here?"

"Your brother was worried about you," Damon sighed, "he called Bonnie and I overheard the conversation. We came to help; to try and talk some sense into you and get you to turn it back on."

"I don't want to turn it on. I like how I am now; I'm no longer held to some impossible ideal, and I'm done mourning. You want to help me?" Elena bit her bottom lip. Rolling her shoulders back she looked them over suggestively while lowering her leg back to the ground.

It had always been one of her deeper fantasies: being with two guys at once. The combination of Ava's tongue, her frenzied dancing, and frat boy's blood had her all worked up. She knew they were both adequate, and that they had probably been in this situation before; they would just be swapping one brunette for another.

"I know how you can help me," she reached and ran her fingers over their abdomens. "What do you say boys: are you up for a little fun?"

It didn't take a genius to figure out what she was insinuating; it was blatantly obvious when she squeezed them through their jeans.

Elena's tongue touched the back of her teeth when they exchanged a look. Her lips formed a pout as their heads shook in unison.

"It… it wouldn't be right," Damon pushed her wrist away.

"Now you're concerned about what's right?" Elena stepped back and put her hands on her hips.

"We're always thinking about what's best for you Elena," Stefan sighed.

"Maybe you should stop," Elena shifted back on her heels, "you've got no right to me, and no right to tell me how to live my life. I want what I want when I want it, and I'll take it."

"I'm not going to sleep with you when you don't have your humanity."

"But it's okay when I'm sired to you?"

"I didn't know about the bond then," Damon's lips quirked up in a smirk as his eyes glittered in the dark alley, "but I do now." He stepped forward and looked down into her dark eyes. "Turn it on Elena. I want you to turn it back on."

Elena's disbelieving eyes flickered from Damon to Stefan's expectant gaze.

"No," she scoffed, "clearly Jeremy didn't tell you. The sire bond was tied to my emotions, and no emotions mean no bond. My will is free again."

"Then turn it back on," Damon stepped back. "Turn it back on and we can finally be together."

"I don't want to be with you, Damon," Elena shook her head. "I thought my slap was clear; we are over. I don't love you…"

"You don't have emotions right now," Damon tried to reason with her.

"I don't love you," Elena looked him over slowly, "and I never did."

"You were coming on to both of us not two minutes ago," Stefan's eyes narrowed. There had to be some of Elena still in there; she had always been so compassionate. Her emotions couldn't have been buried too deep.

Elena turned her gaze to the younger brother and tilted her head. She had never thought of Stefan as stupid; he had a hero complex, but he wasn't stupid.

"I don't care about either of you," she leaned forward, met their eyes and enunciated clearly. "I don't care about anything, except my physical needs. I needed blood from him," she waved to the dumpster, "and now I need a hard fuck, the kind only a vampire can give me, and you've both proven to be adequate in the bedroom."

"No."

"Fine," Elena shrugged, "I'll go and find someone else; there are plenty of attractive men inside. Or maybe a girl again; that was fun."

She flashed them both a bored smirk before flashing inside.

"Now what?" Stefan turned to Damon when she was gone.

"Now we catch her," Damon grumbled, "and force her to flip the switch."

"We should have just said yes and broken her neck before anything happened."

"Let's just go and find the kitten before she kills anyone else," Damon pushed past him and walked from the alley.

"Kitten?"

"Katherine 2.0," Damon looked back over his shoulder, "baby Kat."

Stefan chuckled and followed his brother into the club.

"Calling her that might piss her off enough to turn it back on."

* * *

Elena tossed her head back into the wall. The vulgar graffiti created an urban background for her exposed upper body. She moaned and ground her hips. By pure chance Ava had still been in the bar; a quick scan had also revealed her other little plaything.

They were all in the cramped bathroom now.

Elena had shed her jacket and t-shirt after entering the stall and turned around to grasp Ava's hair. A moment of hard kissing passed before she pushed the girl to her knees. One of her hands was still holding a fistful of the lustrous red hair.

"Do you like watching Daniel?" Her eyes fell to his pants. "Do you enjoy watching Ava eat my pussy?"

He nodded. Elena could hear his pounding heart from his place by the door.

"Then show me how much you like it," she nodded to his zipper. Just when he pulled out his erection Ava buried her tongue in Elena's cunt.

Daniel began to jerk off to Elena's moans. He couldn't decide where to look: Elena's heaving breasts, her dripping cunt, or Ava's fingers that had found their way between her legs.

"Ava's a bit of an exhibitionist," Elena gasped. A coil began to tighten in her stomach. "But you knew that. She's totally getting off on you watching her do this, but do you know what's gonna push her over the edge?"

"No," he grunted. His orgasm was fast approaching.

"The knowledge that the door is unlocked," Elena bit her lip, "and that any moment now," she shuddered and held back her release, "it's…" her pulse slammed in her neck, "… going to… oh my…" she panted and pressed Ava closer. The busty red head had found her g-spot and was using her fingers to stimulate the soft tissue while sucking on her clit. "… burst… oh… mmm… Ava you're amazi…"

Elena's head fell back against the wall as her hand clasped the top of the stall. She heard the wood crack but didn't bother looking; instead she chose to ride out her orgasm against Ava's face while panting her name.

Daniel groaned and came with a guttural moan making a mess of Ava's neck and Elena's thighs.

Ava jerked back with a gasp when the door was ripped from the hinges and banged off the sink.

"Hmm," Damon tilted his head and clasped the shoulder of the man with his cock in hand, "that is hot," he nodded to Elena as she came down, "can't say I blame you for making a mess."

Daniel swallowed. His breath caught in his throat when Stefan came in and caught his chin.

"Leave now and forget what happened in here." Stefan released Elena's plaything and yanked the other one to her feet. He was a little gentler with Ava, but he still compelled her to leave and forget.

"Did you change your minds?" Elena panted and watched them go before settling her eyes on the brothers. She smirked when their eyes fell to her still open legs.

"Not exactly," Damon smirked.

Before Elena had a chance to react he flashed across the small space. She just heard the snap of her neck before her vision went black and she heard nothing.

"Let's not mention this to her brother," Stefan located her top and fitted her arms into the sleeves. "It's not the best look for his sister."

"How about the body in the dumpster?" Damon murmured.

"That either," Stefan located Elena's jacket. He wrestled her into the material and tossed Elena over his shoulder.

"Fine," Damon reached out and straightened her skirt until it reached as low as it would go. "Let's get her back to Mystic Falls."

A few people turned to look, but nobody stopped them from carrying the girl who'd overdone it from the club.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do we all remember how they tried to get her emotions back on in the show? Because reasoning with her didn't work, as far as they were concerned.
> 
> The next chapter will have a time jump and maybe some flashbacks to how they've tried getting her emotions back on.
> 
> Look for the return of Originals in the coming chapters.


	4. Rescue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own TVD or TO.
> 
> I've planned out the entire story now and it is a total of 9 chapters with the last consisting of a time jump and Elena's first journal entry since she learned about the sire bond.

Jeremy paced back and forth. His feet were quickly wearing a whole in the antique carpet that his mother had loved so much, but he couldn't bring himself to care. Elena was the one who always cared about the house and everything in it. Of course that was when she cared about anything.

She didn't care about much these days, and he couldn't blame her for wanting to avoid the grief that followed them around like puppies licking at their heels. No sooner would they push one away than another would jump up and demand their attention. He knew what it was like. He had felt it too. He knew the great rushing waves of anguish that crashed over them; each death made the water that much higher until they were all but drowning in it. There were times he would have liked to turn it off too.

He knew Elena never would have come to the decision if not for the sire bond. She hated the grief and the sadness that turned her blood to ice and made it impossible to get out of bed some days, but she also knew that life came with happy moments as well. It was only the complete absence of grief that had made her want to leave it off, but she wasn't herself anymore and she would hate herself if she went down a dark path while her emotions were off.

He paused by the mantle and lifted a metal picture frame. His fingertips gently traced the bright smile and sparkling eyes of his sister. The photograph had been one of the last times they were truly happy; it had been taken a few weeks before the accident that started them down the supernatural spiral.

They had lost everything but each other, and he would be damned if he lost her too. And the longer she remained without her emotions the further away she got from him.

He pressed his phone to his ear and drew in a deep breath. Each long ring of the dial tone caused his annoyance to flare. They had found Elena a week ago, and he hadn't seen her in three days. Everyone had tried to make her turn it back on by appealing to one emotion or another; when nothing had worked the Salvatores had told him to leave. They had a plan, but they didn't think it would work with him in the house.

He had agreed and left, but now something seemed off. They should have given him an update by now. Just when he was about to storm out of the house and drive over there the call connected.

"What's taking so long?" He was done wasting time with pleasantries.

_"It's not a science, Pocahontas. She's proving to be more resistant than we thought."_

"Resistant?" Jeremy's brows shot up. Something in Damon's tone set off an alarm in the back of his mind. He heard a rush of wind, and somewhere in the distance a bloodcurdling scream, a very familiar bloodcurdling scream.

"What the hell are you doing to my sister?"

_"The kind, lovey-dovey approach wasn't working…"_

"Damon!"

_"We're trying to trigger a response: anger or fear."_

Jeremy gritted his teeth. He couldn't hear the screaming anymore, but he just knew it was still happening.

"What are you doing?" Every muscle in his body was tense with angry energy.

_"Starving and torturing her. Don't worry it'll work."_

Before he could say anything the call disconnected and the rage bottled in his body broke.

There was a loud crash as his phone broke the picture window.

* * *

Her breath came in heavy pants as the grotesque tear in her thigh slowly knit back together. The process was obscenely slow. Since her brother had left the Boarding House her exes had only given her a few drops of tainted blood.

She was starving, and every wound inflicted only increased the ache in her gums and the gnawing hunger in her belly. She was so hungry that she could feel it in her bones, and if Stefan or Damon got close enough they just might have found themselves on the wrong end of her teeth.

She could see the last of the skin as it sealed and her thigh was whole again. The lack of a proper diet meant she was left with a nasty bruise, but at least the wound was closed. She wondered how much blood she would have to lose before her body just stopped healing all together.

If she endured much more of their torture she just might pass out from exhaustion.

Elena looked up from her leg in time to see the wicked glint of the blade. It moved in a blur before Stefan buried the weapon deep in her body. Liquid ran down the handle in dark rivulets.

She watched the macabre sight and licked her aching gums as her fangs descended; it seemed even the scent of her own blood was enough to cause the shift.

"Turn it on," Stefan gripped the hilt and twisted, "and I'll stop."

She gasped at the heat that spread through her veins. The pain throbbed through her body.

"Is that the best you've got?" She swallowed the blood that rose in her throat.

"Come on, Elena," his eyes flashed. "This has to be making you angry."

"Not in the slightest." She rolled her eyes.

Elena took one look at the tension in his body and tilted her head with a knowing smile.

"By all means continue," she saw the emotion flickering in his gaze, "I can see you're enjoying yourself…" She paused to cough and spat the blood that flooded her mouth onto the carpet. "Tell me," her voice was little more than a hoarse whisper, "is it cathartic? Have you wanted to hurt me for a while now?"

Stefan's eyes narrowed in a glare. She appeared almost bored with the proceedings.

"You have, haven't you?" She sighed. "Some of it might be projecting. Maybe you're seeing me as Katherine, but a part of you has wanted to hurt me since I slept with Damon."

She knew she had him when his eyes fell to the blade in her stomach.

"You know he's bigger, right?" She leaned forward with a pained grunt. "He is, and he felt amazing buried in my…"

Her mouth opened in a silent scream as Stefan dragged the blade up to her collarbone with a grunt. He smirked when he pulled the blade free and all that rose from her cracked lips was a strained gurgle. He had severed her vocal cords.

"I don't want to hear about your exploits with my brother," he dropped the short sword onto a table. Stefan cursed himself internally for allowing her to get a rise out of him.

It took her a few minutes to heal enough, but when her throat closed she rolled her neck around and fixed Stefan with a curious expression.

"Are we keeping score?" She exhaled slowly. "If we are I'm pretty sure that's a point for me."

"Shut up," Stefan spat over his shoulder.

"You're the one who wanted to play games," Elena drawled. "I told you, Stefan: you'd break first."

He spun around and flashed in front of her. He saw her eyes narrow in confusion when he slipped her ring from her finger.

"Whatcha doing, Stefan?" Elena cocked an eyebrow. She watched him vanish into the kitchen and heard a drawer opening. There was a moment of silence before a loud clang.

Damon froze on the step leading down into the living room and tilted his head. When he had left to talk to Jeremy they had been working with cuts and slashes that healed slowly not full blown attacks on her person. She had been in one piece when he left the house, but now he could see the shadow of her heart beating slowly in her chest through a ragged cut that was healing at a snail's pace.

Stefan walked back into the living room with a knife in hand. He flashed across the floor and pushed it into his brother.

"Ouch," Damon grunted and pulled the gleaming blade free. "What was that for?"

"Anger wasn't working."

"It seems to have worked wonders for you," Damon felt his wound heal quickly.

"I know, right," Elena scoffed.

"Shut up," Stefan glanced back over his shoulder. He reached into his pocket and extracted the remains of her ring. The stone had been broken into three pieces.

"What's the plan Stefan?" Elena eyed the amulet with disinterest.

"We're moving on to fear," he dropped the ruined trinket in front of her on the carpet and strode to the window.

"You're bluffing," Elena sighed. She glanced down to her chest as the wound sealed, but she could tell it was still bleeding internally.

"Am I?" Stefan gripped the edge of the curtain. "Turn it on Elena."

She tossed her hair back over her shoulder and met his angry gaze. Her eyes darted to Damon who joined his brother at the window. It seemed a little light stabbing wasn't enough to drive a wedge between the siblings.

"No."

Elena closed her eyes and screamed when the sun hit her skin. It burned like nothing else. Her skin grew tight and bubbled up, but the blisters barely had time to break open. In an instant her once smooth skin caught fire and it was like she had been dosed in Bourbon.

The thought that she was going to die tied to that chair crossed her mind, but before she could think over the conundrum the spinning sensation in her head stopped and she lost consciousness.

Damon and Stefan moved to close the curtain when the flames began but a flash of colour gave them pause. One moment Elena was burning a few feet away and the next she was gone. They had just located her outline in a dark corner when pain penetrated their bodies.

Damon looked down in time to see the wooden dart buried in his stomach before he fell with a groan. He looked up with Stefan when someone stepped out of the dark.

"Let's get something very clear." The crossbow was lowered slowly. "You are not going to torture my sister."

"There was no other way," Damon gritted his teeth and wrapped his long fingers around the shaft of the dart.

"There's always another way."

Stefan turned his head to the shadows. The blur he had initially taken to be Caroline, because who else would Jeremy call, quickly took on the shape of a man, a very tall young man with the light of eternity in his eyes. He decided to never tell Caroline about the first assumption; the blonde would not take it well.

"What's he doing here?" Stefan watched as Kol extinguished the last of the embers burning on Elena's clothes.

Kol sat back on his knees and gritted his teeth. Each deep breath he took was in an effort to temper the anger that seared through his body. He had thought only Klaus possessed the ability to make him feel the way he was in that moment, but he had been wrong. Looking down at the ruined skin of Elena Gilbert he realized he had never been so angry in his unnaturally long life. These were two men she had once called friend and lover and they had nearly killed her. He didn't dare move until he heard her undead heart beating for fear of slaughtering those she, under normal circumstances, cared for; cared enough that a sire bond had formed.

"Since I was the one who pointed out she was sired," Kol stood to his full height, "I thought I'd use a little compulsion to help her."

"Now there's an option we hadn't thought of," Damon grunted. He glared when the Original towered over him. There was something dark in the man's expression; something dangerous and spine-tingling, like he was holding back from reaching down to rip out his heart.

Kol's brows knit together over his dark eyes. There was something profoundly stupid about this vampire, and it was his arrogance. Kol knew his anger was flashing in his gaze; anyone else would have feared for their lives, but then… the Salvatores had never had the best sense of self-preservation. They actually thought themselves capable of standing against Original vampires, and even after learning about the bloodlines they had wanted to slaughter the rest of them.

"She's on vervain," Stefan sat up, "although it might have burned out by now." He couldn't reach the dart that had embedded in his shoulder. The angle was off.

 _Arrogant and stupid,_  Kol rolled his eyes.

"I'm not here to compel her."

"You're the whole reason she shut it off," Damon ground out. If he hadn't told Elena about the possibility of the bond being in place she would have never known.

"No, Damon," rage flashed through his veins, "you're the reason she shut it off. You knew that you could break the bond by telling her to move on and forget you, and she knew it too."

Damon moved to interrupt when a second dart pierced his throat.

"Save it," Jeremy loaded another dart, "Bonnie told her after you told Bonnie."

Damon yanked the wood from his throat and dropped it. He sat up and breathed heavily while the wounds healed.

"I love her," he panted. "I wasn't going to tell her to move on."

"That's not love you selfish prick."

"What the hell do you know about, love?" Damon spat.

"Apparently more than you," Kol scoffed. "You can't say you love someone and force them to stay. That's not how this works."

"The bond is gone," Damon swallowed. "We'll be perfectly fine once you make her turn it on."

"Have you not been listening, mate?" He knelt in front of the brothers. His hand darted out to twist the dart in Stefan's shoulder. "I will not force her to embrace her emotions. The impediment of her free will is what got all of you into this mess in the first place."

"You said you were here to use compulsion," Stefan gritted his teeth.

"He is," Jeremy looked up from where he was checking on Elena. "He's here to compel you."

Kol smirked and gripped Damon's chin tightly enough to bruise the younger vampire.

"You're going to stay far away from Elena Gilbert. You will do nothing to coax out her emotions and will only speak to her if and when she approaches you first. Understood?"

Kol hummed when Damon nodded and broke his neck before repeating the process with Stefan.

He stood over the bodies for a moment and then stepped over them to kneel beside Elena's prone body.

"I can carry her," Jeremy reached down to pick her up.

"She's starving, mate," Kol shook his head. "The last thing we want is her waking up in your arms and attacking."

Jeremy nodded and stood back while Kol moved to lift her.

"What about her ring?" Kol stopped and eyed her bare fingers. The Salvatores had done something with it.

Jeremy looked around for a moment before his eyes lit on the glittering blue on the bloodstained carpet.

"I think I found it," he picked up the pieces. "This isn't going to work is it?"

"Afraid not," Kol shook his head. He didn't think before pulling the ring from his own hand and sliding it on her thumb. He hoisted Elena into his arms and answered her brother's unasked question. "When you've lived as long as I have the sun becomes more of a nuisance than anything."

"It helps that you're an Original," Jeremy muttered.

"That it does."

* * *

Elena's eyes slowly fluttered open. For a moment she saw nothing and then the room came into focus. The moonlight cast a pale glow on the dark wood.

She didn't recognize the room, but she knew when the sun rose it would be full of light. It was the kind of space you'd have seen in a magazine; tastefully decorated in pale blues and glistening silver.

Her arms trembled as she pushed herself up to sit against the headboard. The glint of blue on her right hand made her roll her eyes. She knew they had been bluffing. They were idiots who still thought the sweet little human they fell in love with was still inside; they'd never kill her.

Her dry eyes narrowed when she took a second look at the ring. It wasn't hers. Her ring had been oval, but the stone on her almost grey finger was pear shaped. The dark blue rested in a nest of tiny diamonds on a delicate braided silver band.

Objectively speaking it was gorgeous, but it wasn't hers.

Her head turned around towards the opening door. She frowned when it was neither Stefan nor Damon leaning in the opening.

"You look terrible," his dark eyes raked over her drawn features, "is that why you've been avoiding me?"

Elena draped her arms over her stomach and held her elbows to combat her shivers. Her raspy voice grated on her own nerves.

"I was avoiding you because I thought I might try to kill you, and then I just didn't care to look you up." She shrugged.

"Oh darling," Kol sighed dramatically, "now that hurts. And after I brought you a snack too." He reached into the hall and pulled a slim young woman into the room.

"For me?" Elena smiled sweetly. "You shouldn't have."

Kol rolled his eyes and directed the compelled girl over to the bed.

Elena's muscles protested the movement as she sat up. She regarded her suspiciously and listened carefully but there didn't appear to be anyone else in the entire house. She licked her dry lips and ran her tongue over her canines as they extended.

She knew the girl had to have been compelled because she showed no signs of fear. The only reaction was a choking gasp as her fangs pierced the smooth column of her throat.

Elena inhaled deeply and drew long mouthfuls of the glorious liquid that she had been denied for so long. Each swallow restored more and more of her strength. Her skin returned to a more normal colour as the girl's heart began to slow.

"That's enough," Kol's firm grip pulled her off the girl. He quickly healed her and compelled her to leave and forget what had just happened. If it had been anyone else feeding on a human he wouldn't have stopped them, but Elena Gilbert was not a killer and he wouldn't turn her into one. The lower her body count was the easier switching it on would be.

Elena tilted her head and watched him perch on the side of the bed. Her eyes darted from him to the dark stains on the sheets.

"Let me guess," she crossed her arms and sat up to cross her legs. "Baby brother found out about the torture and couldn't stomach it."

"Something like that," Kol chuckled.

"So what's his plan now," Elena tilted her head. "Compulsion?" She met his eyes as she scooted closer. She still needed more blood, the lack of it made her cold and he was radiating heat.

"I'm not going to compel you, darling," he turned to face her and braced his hand on the bed, "unless I have to, but I will make you a deal."

A jolt passed through her skin when his arm brushed her knee.

"I thought Elijah was the Original who made deals," Elena blinked. She brought her hands down on either side of her thighs; the tips of her fingers grazed his pinky.

The shock that raced up his arm surprised him.

"I've been known to strike a bargain or two in my time, Elena," his lips lifted in a smirk. His eyes darted to her mouth.

"What is it?" Elena's tongue poked out to sweep the velvety bloody from her lower lip.

"I won't force you to turn it on, but you can't kill anyone," Kol met her eyes again. He prayed nobody had taught her how to use the heart as a lie detector because he knew he would never compel her anyway.

"If I agree?" She tilted her head.

He breathed an internal sigh of relief.

"You're free to go," he tilted his head, "or stay. The choice is yours."

"Here?" Elena's brows shot up. "Stay here in the house with two people who've killed me."

"This is my house, darling, not Nik's, and you're welcome to stay as long as you like."

Elena's fingers tapped out a slow beat on the mattress. Each downward motion brushed against Kol's hand and sent a new jolt of energy up his arm to his chest.

She got the strange sense that if she left it wouldn't be long until he caught up with her. And too much time around Jeremy would threaten to break the floodgates wide open.

"Okay," she murmured.

"Okay?" Kol was surprised by the light feeling that flooded his chest.

"Okay," she nodded and drew in a deep breath. "If I leave it's only a matter of time before someone else hunts me down and tries to force me to turn it on. Baby brother will just keep trying."

Kol was about to stand up when she wrapped her hand around his wrist.

"Let's just get one thing clear first," she ignored the heat running up her arm, "I was always free to go. Wasn't I?"

He met her mahogany eyes and nodded slowly.

"You were," he murmured, "but you would have found me not far behind. I've no intention of finding you on top of a pile of bodies."

"Careful, Kol," she let go and stood up, "someone might start to think you care."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do you think? I'll tell you writing it out is alot easier when it's all planned from beginning to end. The only variations now will come if a review inspires a twist at some point.


	5. A Thousand Years Gone

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own TVD or TO.
> 
> I meant to update this one yesterday but then I got really inspired for my Saving Hope crossover.

She tossed her hair over her shoulder and leaned in the frame of the door. The rich smell of simmering garlic had drawn her from the library where she had been wondering how many of the leather bound volumes her host had actually read.

She hadn't actually been hungry for human food in weeks. The desire to curb her supernatural cravings had not been overly high and so she had avoided it. It wasn't like she needed to consume anything but blood.

She bit her cheek and tilted her head while scrutinizing him. She had ultimately decided to stay because she knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that her brother would keep trying, and he would probably have succeeded, to make her flip the switch. He would never resort to torture but he would try. She was in no hurry to experience the grief that had been her life. Snatch, eat, erase was annoying but it meant she could stay with Kol and not have to worry about any of her 'friends' trying to manipulate her; he had already taken care of the Salvatores.

She had never pegged him for a chief. If her nose was anything to go by then he was a pretty decent cook.

Kol chopped some onions and added them to the pan. He had felt her eyes on him since she'd emerged and taken up a post by the door, but he hadn't said anything.

He had been relieved when she decided to stay. Watching her was certainly easier this way. He still didn't understand why he cared so much about the devastation she would feel on turning it on if she were to harm someone. He just knew he wanted to save her that pain. He was starting to feel every life he had taken clawing at his back and his compassion was nowhere near the level of hers.

He knew he would protect her.

He would protect her from everyone and everything including herself.

Elena shifted silently and slithered into the kitchen like a slow trickle of water over a bed of rocks.

She knew she had taken him by surprise when he turned around and looked from her to the door. She could see it in his eyes; he was impressed.

She tilted her head and watched him. Her eyes never left his and for a few seconds they were locked in a staring contest. Electricity sizzled in the air between them in time with the onions in the pan.

She didn't know what to make of this ancient vampire. Before flipping the switch she had cared enough about his life to avoid him at all costs because she hadn't wanted to kill him.

Curiosity, she told herself, was not an emotion but a state of mind. She was curious about him. She was Pandora and he was the box.

She wondered how hard it would be to pry off the lid and release all of his evil and madness on the world. Was there anything left inside? Had he already let it all out?

What would she find under the layers of madness and rumor that the centuries had piled on his shoulders? Was he really as mad as Klaus?

Her eyes dropped to the stove. "You can cook."

Kol cleared his throat and returned to his task. "I can."

"And you love music."

He had thought she would have forgotten that fact and the knowledge that she remembered lifted his lips in a smirk.

"I do."

Elena tipped her chin up and met his eyes.

"Gay?"

"No," he chuckled, "but I have been with my share of men over the centuries. Just as you've had your share of women."

"Woman," she corrected, "just the one. Damon and Stefan took me before I could be with another."

Kol turned around and pulled some plates from the cabinet.

"Eternity is a long time darling," he began plating the food, "there will be another."

Elena clicked her tongue.

"Maybe."

"Maybe," Kol chuckled. He passed her a plate and moved to sit at the table.

Elena eyed the food warily. The rich smells rose to her nose making her mouth water and her stomach grumble. Damon and Stefan had given her tainted food to weaken her; would Kol do the same?

She decided it was unlikely. She had watched him cooking and he didn't seem the type to poison himself. He had already taken a few bites when she came to sit in front of him.

"Why are you doing this?"

He looked from her to his plate and the fork midway to his mouth.

"I was hungry?"

Elena rolled her eyes.

"Not the food Kol. Why are you helping me? Why didn't you just compel me?" She tilted her head and played with her fork. "It would have been a lot easier."

She heard him inhale deeply before reaching for his water with a sigh. She began to think he wasn't going to answer when his mouth opened.

"Losing your free will is what prompted you to turn it off in the first place," he tipped his chin up and met her curious gaze. "I didn't want you to hate me."

She might have missed his confession if not for her enhanced hearing. Her eyes narrowed as her head tilted.

"Why would you care if I hate you?"

"Hate is a negative emotion and that shouldn't be the first one you experience. You'll turn it on when you're ready."

"How can you be sure of that? What could you possibly know about that?"

"I've been where you are darling. I know the allure of darkness."

His eyes flashed with memories of years gone by and countless lives taken. A blur of death and destruction before a lithe body pinned beneath him on a kitchen floor and the flash of defeat in mahogany eyes.

"I also know one day something is going to happen to you and you won't be able to stop yourself from feeling."

Elena ran her tongue along her teeth and crossed her arms on the table.

"You've  _been_  where I am?"

Kol smirked but the expression didn't quite reach his eyes.

"Eat your veggies love. If you're still curious I'll take you out tonight and show you."

"Under a full moon?" She cocked an eyebrow. "That sounds safe."

"Nobody will harm you while you're with me, darling."

The thought brought a flood of warmth to her chest.

* * *

He glanced up from where he was reading one of the many novels he had missed out on in the last hundred years. There was a pretty brunette leaning in his door. She'd developed quite the habit of watching him from the door.

"I thought you would let it go," he marked his page.

The pale moonlight filtered through his window and brightened the silver buttons on her jacket.

He walked across the room until his shadow blocked the light.

"Why would you think that?" She straightened her spine to meet his eyes.

He tilted his head. The curiosity was there in her mahogany eyes. Not for the first time he wondered just how deep her emotions were truly buried.

"Because you don't care about anything." He saw her eyes flash.

The denial was quick. It rested on the tip of her tongue as if she had been expecting to say it.

"I don't care."

"Then why are you here?" He reached for his jacket.

"I'm…" her mouth hung open for a split second. Humans wouldn't have caught the hesitation but Kol heard the minor shift in her voice. "I'm curious."

"Curious, huh?" He cocked an eyebrow and chuckled. "Alright," he gently took her elbow and steered her into the hall. "Come along, Pandora."

* * *

Her fingers tapped out the rhythm of the bass as they drove through the woods. She could see the flickering orange light from a bonfire and heard the distant voices of her classmates under the music coming through his speakers.

They were partying. It seemed like every full moon the teens of Mystic Falls would take to the woods for a wild party.

Two years ago would have found her in the midst of everything. If it was warm she might have been wearing her cheerleading uniform and Matt's letterman jacket. She could still remember him grabbing a couple of red solo cups and sneaking away to the water. She had drunk only a few sips of her beer when he'd kissed her. It had been her first kiss and she remembered thinking, at the time, that it couldn't have been more perfect.

"I had my first kiss by the falls." She wasn't sure why she told him.

"That's funny," Kol turned off the car, "so did I; a thousand years gone now." He stepped out and started towards the water. "It was right here. Her name was Alice."

Elena cocked her head and crossed her arms. It was chilly near the water.

"Did you bring me out here to reminisce?"

"No," he toed off his shoes and removed his jacket. "I brought you out here to show you something."

"I've heard that line before," she looked him over slowly.

"Maybe later," he smirked.

"… You're joking."

"You'll have to find out," he chuckled before backing into the water.

Elena watched him for a moment. She could already feel the cold snaking around her ankles and dripping down her spine, but ultimately curiosity won out. She pulled off her boots, tore her jacket down her arms and followed him. A tiny voice whispered in the back of her mind: 'you'd follow him anywhere'.

Kol came to a stop beneath the roaring fall for which the town had been named. He smiled and nodded to the water.

"We're going through."

"Into a solid stone wall?" Elena scoffed. The water twisted around her knees.

"There's a cave on the other side."

She vividly remembered Elijah stomping a hole in the earth and depositing her in another hidden cave.

"Let me guess," she heaved a sigh, "it's full of runic writing."

"Something like that."

She stared at the solid wall of water. He had disappeared through it in a rush of wind. 'Anywhere' echoed in her mind; it was still sounding when the water saturated her clothes and ran down her nose. Not even a vampire could move fast enough to stay dry in the torrential rush.

She wiped the moisture from her face and pushed back her hair. Her eyes adjusted to the gloom quickly and located Kol a few feet away. He was kneeling on the ground and moving a few heavy rocks out of the way.

She stepped forward when he turned to her with an old box in his hands.

"I open the box and unleash famine, war, and strife."

"Hilarious," he rolled his eyes.

"Hey you're the one who called me Pandora." She pointed to him as he lifted the lid and pulled out a length of tied together leather. "A book?"

"A grimoire," he untied the cord and flipped open the pages.

In the gloom she could just make out spirals and runes. She had a feeling she already knew the answer.

"Whose?"

"Mine," Kol ran his fingers over the pages. They were perfectly preserved.

"Mother turned us into vampires. I took it harder than my siblings."

Elena watched a drop of water run down his temple and caught the distant look in his eyes. A tugging sensation started in her chest.

"I had lost my brother, my own life and my connection to nature. In my grief I was to burn this."

He closed the book. The soft leather was at once familiar and foreign in his hands.

The tugging shifted into a tightening.

"Why didn't you?"

Kol shook his head and released a humourless laugh.

"Rebekah… she stopped me." As he spoke he turned the book over in his hands. "She told me one day I might want it again and asked Ayana to place it in a spelled box to preserve the pages. I flipped the switch days after my transition Elena." He pushed his wet hair from his brow. "I kept it off for nine hundred years."

"What changed?"

Elena saw the loss in his eyes and the ghosts of grief and remorse. The tightness in her chest turned to a heavy feeling over her heart. She wanted to turn around and run but something kept her feet glued to the floor. She couldn't look away from his dark eyes.

"Nik," he breathed after a moment of deafening quiet where all she could hear was his beating heart. "He daggered me one too many times and I got angry. He stole centuries of my life Elena and I channeled all of my rage into waging a war on him. I did terrible things because anger came first. I know you'll regret it if the same happens to you."

"Why do you care?" Her fingers twitched at her sides.

"I care," he took a step toward her. He could feel the goosebumps rising on her flesh. "What are you so afraid of feeling?"

He stared down into her blank eyes and saw something flicker. Her heart skipped a beat before picking up again. As soon as it came the flicker was gone.

He watched her pivot on her heel and vanished through the falls. He let her go while questioning himself. In a thousand years he had never cared for another soul. He had thought his compassion died with his magic, but he hadn't been able to say no when Jeremy asked for his help.

He hadn't been able to kill her.

He felt an unprecedented need to protect her.

He had wanted to tear the Salvatores apart for what they had done to her, but he hadn't been able to. And why not; because they were her friends once and with her forgiving nature would be again.

Caring for her and her emotions apparently meant sparing her friends. He hadn't been able to hurt Jeremy in Denver; he had spared Damon when they began the search for 'Bloody' Mary. Thinking back on his time since waking and first locking eyes on the young doppelganger he couldn't remember killing anyone.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do you guys think?
> 
> I would love to get some reviews so I can hear your lovely thoughts.


	6. Emotions are Hard

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own TVD or TO.
> 
> Sorry for the delay guys, but Christmas is a busy time or year. I've got the whole story planned out though.

His fingers tapped the spine of the book in his hands. He had returned to the house after a night of searching when his reason had caught up with him. He didn't have a reason to look for her; she had made it perfectly clear she didn't care about anything.

Part of him was hoping he would find her at the house, but the place was deserted. Her things were still there which he took as a good sign.

His eyes shifted from the novel on his knee to the bedspread. He had carried the grimoire back with him from the falls after finding he couldn't leave it behind.

Now that he was trying to relax and give her the space she obviously wanted he was nervous. The glow of the full moon had all but diminished and most, if not all, of the wolves in the area had been turned while Elena was human, but in the back of his mind a tiny voice was whispering: 'what if'.

What if Klaus had missed a few wolves? What if she was in trouble somewhere in the woods?

Dawn broke over the horizon as phantom growls set off in the back of his mind. The thought that she was hurt or even bitten sent him running down the stairs. He was at the front door before the book hit the ground.

His pounding heart stuttered and stopped when he wrenched the door open. There on his doorstep was a shivering brunette and for a moment all he could do was stare at her, but then he jumped into action.

A line appeared between her brows.

Kol took hold of her elbow and pulled her into the house. A deep frown marred his normally amused features and made him look far older than the nineteen mortal years he had been.

"Are you alright?"

His hands explored her skin, shifted her wet clothes and held the sides of her neck.

"You're as cold as ice," his hands slid back down her arms and curled around her frozen fingers.

"I'm cold because you dragged me through a waterfall and I spent the night in wet clothes," she shivered. The places where his hands had ghosted over her bare skin tingled; the whispers of heat and longing crept down her spine.

"You weren't bitten?" His eyes sought out her gaze.

"Careful," Elena looked down slowly to where he was still holding her hands. "Someone might start to think you care."

She slid her hands free and pivoted on her heel to stride into the house. The sudden sense of eyes watching made the hair on the back of her neck stand up.

Kol slammed the door shut before following her up the winding staircase. He moved her shoes out of his path and stepped into the ensuite attached to her room.

"I understand that you're without emotions darling," he struggled to keep his voice level, "but have you also abandoned your common sense? Do you have any sense of self-preservation left?"

Elena glanced over her shoulder while peeling off her wet t-shirt.

"You could have died, Elena," his hands shook with fury.

"I didn't," she shrugged. Her fingers popped the button of her jeans.

"What are you doing?"

His eyes narrowed when she stood before him in her midnight blue underwear. He tore his gaze from her curves and met her eyes.

"I'm cold," she tilted her head. Her hands snaked around her back.

"And stripping is going to help?" He cocked an eyebrow.

"No," she gave up with the clasp. Her frozen fingers were useless at the moment so she busied them turning the knobs of the shower. "Hot water is going to help."

She left the water to warm up and turned to face him. Her bare feet slowly crossed the path to stand in front of Kol.

"Now you are welcome to continue your tirade," her hand splayed over his heart, "but you'll have to join me."

He didn't have time to be impressed with her speed before she planted her lips on his in a sound kiss. Sparks erupted into a flame as her tongue swept into his mouth.

Her breath hitched. His warm hand spread over the small of her back to pull her flush against him; the heat from his palm seeped into her skin.

Her lips moved against his with an almost desperate hunger. She could feel something fluttering in her chest again. There was something missing from the kiss; something she hadn't noticed until he slowed things down and backed her into the shower wall.

She realized what it was when he broke away to breathe and looked down into her eyes. He had said he cared, but it wasn't until then that she realized just how much.

Her hands shifted from his hair to his chest in order to push him a few inches back. She needed to turn around. She needed to break the eye contact before the fluttering in her heart mutated into a full blown emotion.

Somewhere over the pounding of the water she heard the unmistakable sound of someone moving about downstairs. She tilted her head and peeked over her shoulder while finally unhooking her bra.

"It sounds like you've got company," she dropped the wet fabric and stepped into the spray while shimmying out of the last of her clothes.

He was contemplating following her into the shower when he heard glass tinkling. The split second he looked away was enough time for her to step behind the frosted glass and leave her lacy undergarments on the floor.

"How deeply have you really buried things Elena?"

She turned her face up into the spray and closed her eyes. It was there right under the surface; she knew it. Part of her was relieved when she heard the door close.

Separating sex and feelings had been easy before, so why was it so much harder with him?

Why did she want to feel every emotion behind his kiss?

* * *

To say he was puzzled by his early morning guest would have been an understatement. Maybe in other families it was common to pop around on your siblings but he and Klaus had never been like that.

They were either the most chaotic of mates or the vilest of enemies, but always… always there was a layer of animosity between them. He liked to blame it all on Klaus; they might have had a wonderful relationship if not for the daggers of the five.

Well, not wonderful, but perhaps normal. There certainly would have been less bloodshed brought on by their hands.

"Did you raid my stash?" Klaus glanced up from the bottle in his hands. It was a rare bottle of Chateau Lafite from 1869. "Correct me if I'm wrong but were you not asleep this year?"

"I believe there are only a dozen bottles left in existence," Klaus set the wine on a low table and stood from the armchair.

"And I've purchased two," Kol's smirk was tight. The feigned amusement didn't reach his eyes. "What are you doing here?"

"It's come to my attention that you've been harbouring my doppelganger," Klaus tilted his head.

"She's not yours Nik!" Too late Kol caught the heat behind his voice.

"Oh…" Klaus chuckled. He glanced to the tick in his brother's jaw. "You care about her."

Kol opened his mouth but before he could say anything Klaus cut in. His blue eyes flashed with dark amusement.

"Don't bother denying it," Klaus smirked, "I heard you from the street. It's not like you to care about anyone else."

Kol gritted his teeth and strode across the living room. Snatching up the bottle of wine he moved to replace it on the shelf. He kept his back to Klaus; he wasn't sure he would be able to refrain from wiping the smug smirk from his brother's face.

"It's very foolish of you," Klaus stood from the chair and reached into his jacket. "Caring, I mean; since she'll be human again soon."

"That's her decision," Kol exhaled slowly.

"No," Klaus clapped him on the shoulder, "it's not."

Kol's mouth popped open as his eyes darted to his chest. A choking sound rose in his throat which Klaus had no problem interpreting.

How occupied had his mind been not to notice Klaus in the house sooner? How long had it taken him to locate the daggers and the ash?

"You've grown distracted little brother. That works out well for me," he drove the blade deeper and watched the grey spread. "I don't want you interfering. Don't worry," he met Kol's eyes as the light faded, "it's only until the end of Elena's natural life."

Klaus lowered his brother to the ground and looked to the door.

* * *

Elena slipped from the shower and began towel drying her hair. She was pulling on a pair of sweats and a tank top when she heard the tail end of a conversation involving her name.

Her feet made next to no sound on the stairs, but she knew from Klaus' smirk that he had seen her.

It took a second for the full image to take shape because for a moment all she saw were flashes of colour: a glint of silver, a spread of grey, a malicious red grin, a bottle of black ash, and a prone body.

She was barely able to breathe as Klaus placed his brother on the floor, but when the hybrid stood and she saw Kol incapacitated her body began to warm. It was less than a minute before her blood was boiling. Her voice shook with her suppressed rage.

"What did you do?" Her stomach trembled. She curled her fingers into fists.

"I put him down," Klaus stood back up. "He would have gotten in the way of my plans."

"What plans?" Elena gritted her teeth. Somewhere in the back of her mind she recognized her body's reaction as anger, but she made no attempt to stamp it back down.

"My plans for you," he sighed. "In making you human again."

Elena was certain she heard her tooth crack from clenching her jaw.

"I don't want to be human, Klaus!"

He shook his head and gave a humourless laugh.

"You don't get a say in this."

"Yes I do!"

Her eyes darted around the room once before she ran at vampire speed. Her hand closed around the dagger and yanked it free. She snatched up the bottle of ashes and raced into the kitchen.

_He stole centuries of my life._

He wouldn't steal them again.

She poured the ashes into the sink and just managed to turn on the water when a hand closed around her throat. Her heart leapt into her throat as she was slammed onto the counter.

"Are you going to kill me Klaus?" She wheezed through her crushed windpipe. There was another doppelganger out there so she wasn't necessarily needed. "Go ahead," she gasped, "but Jeremy will never help you."

Klaus' narrow eyes darted to the ashes being washed away in a steady stream of water. He knew she was right; Jeremy Gilbert would never consent to aiding his plight if he were to turn his attention to Katerina after killing his sister.

"Maybe I'll just torture you," he tightened his fingers around her throat. "I need you alive, but you don't require all of your limbs."

"All because I poured out the ashes?" Elena tried to pull his hand free. "Sorry Klaus; you'll just have to learn to live with your siblings."

Her eyes widened when Klaus neck twisted at an unnatural angle. She rolled over and gasped for breath as her windpipe slowly healed.

She straightened in time to see Kol look from the empty bottle of ashes to the dagger in her fingers.

"Careful, darling," he took the blade from her hand, "someone might start to think you care."

* * *

Smooth jazz floated through the air and around the bodies of dozens of patrons in the upscale restaurant. People were dressed to the nines and dining on absurdly small portions.

Lawyers worked out business deals over pate, arranged shady deals and planned underhanded acquittals.

Amidst the dark dealings and glittering couples sat a beautiful brunette in a little black dress. Her cunning eyes observed every backhanded deal and hidden argument. Her lips lifted when a man slid into the seat across from her.

"You're late," she tilted her head. "I was told you're the best, and I expect the best to be punctual."

"Sorry babes," he adjusted his tie, "but I had to find something to wear." His eyes darted around the restaurant. "This isn't my typical scene."

"I don't do dive bars," she opened her napkin and spread it over her lap.

She crossed her legs and looked up in time to see his eyes roaming over her slowly. He took in everything from her chestnut curls to her designer shoes.

She was his typical client: bored trophy wife, or spoiled heiress.

"Shall we get down to it?" He wondered who had driven her to call him: her husband or her lover.

"Let's," she smiled brightly and pulled a file from her handbag.

He flipped open the plain file and viewed the first image. It was a young man getting out of a car.

 _The lover then,_  he glanced up at her while closing the folder.

"What did he do: break your heart?"

"Something like that," she leaned forward. Under the table the toe of her shoe trailed up his calve. "You'll only get one shot at this. There are people who will stand in the way." She tilted her head and reached out to run her fingers over the man's wrist.

His eyes dropped to her hand as her foot made it passed his knee. He lifted his gaze to her face.

"There's the matter of my fee," he cocked an eyebrow.

"You're going to wave it." She hummed.

"Now why would I do a thing like that?" His eyes fell to her chest.

"Because," her smile was sickeningly sweet, "I'm telling you to." With a flick of her wrist she dug her nails into his skin and brought his eyes back to hers in time to see her dilating pupils.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got this idea on the way home last night for another story where Klaus found Elena as a child and wasn't going to leave her behind while he hunted down the remaining ingredients for the spell; except he knows next to nothing about children that small so he wakes Rebekah thinking giving her charge of the young girl, but Rebekah grows attached and eventually figures out exactly what Elena is. She takes the toddler and runs eventually they make their way back to Mystic Falls. I thought it would be something relatively short, but it's looking like 20+ chapters.


	7. Making Amends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own TVD or TO.
> 
> Christmas is busy y'all. and if I'm being honest part of me was reluctant to write this chapter and you will see why towards the bottom.

She was certain there was a tear shaped indent on her index finger. The official cut of the lapis lazuli was a pear but it looked more like a tear in that moment. She would know; she was very familiar with tears. She had grown even more familiar with them now, and there was a tear shaped indent on her index finger from where she was twirling the ring around and around.

It was all she could do for several moments after stepping onto the porch. Her eyes lingered on the brown door for several long minutes before drifting to the white swing. She could still see the dent where Jeremy had run into the swing on his skateboard when he was seven and knocked out his front tooth.

She didn't know how long she stood on that porch, but the only sign that an eternity had not actually passed was the steady beating of a human heart deep within the confines of the house. With her vampire hearing she knew the sound was coming from the kitchen, and she knew precisely how many steps were between her and him.

Part of her wanted to turn on her heel and run back to the house and the safety that came from him. One thing he had never done was judge her, and he'd had plenty of opportunities over the last six weeks. Six weeks: she hadn't set foot on the property in six weeks.

The other part, the part that had woken up when Klaus appeared, knew she couldn't run. She had to do this.

She drew in a deep breath and reached out to knock before the part that wanted to run won out. The air stilled in her lungs as she waited and counted the approaching footsteps.

"Lena?" Jeremy took a small step back when he saw her.

"Hey, Jer," she managed a small smile and just caught her hand before she could do a shy wave.

Jeremy stepped closer and looked down into her flickering eyes.

"Are you… you?"

Elena pressed her lips together to stop them from shaking and nodded once. She knew she had missed him, but she hadn't realized how much until he pulled her into a tight hug that might have hurt if she were still human. She closed her arms around his back and blinked away the moisture that flooded her eyes.

After a moment they shifted to sit on the porch swing and rocked back and forth gently. Every backward motion made a soft creak that told her it had been some time since they'd done any form of maintenance; they'd had very little time to do anything but attempt to juggle the supernatural mess that was their life.

She listened to the creaking and worried her bottom lip. She knew what she needed to do, but the words stuck in her throat. It was after several minutes when she had thoroughly bruised her lip.

"I'm sorry…"

He cut her off before she could launch into the speech she had prepared and spent two days going over in her head.

"Don't," he held up his hand, "do not apologize to me for that. If I'm going to blame anyone I'm going to blame Damon."

Elena shook her head and laughed bitterly.

"As much as I would love to blame Damon for all of my problems, I can't." She wrapped her fingers around the chain and crossed her ankles. Rolling her head to the side she felt shame corroding her internal organs. "I did some terrible things Jer. Nobody forced me to say what I did to you, or to kill that guy…"

It had taken her very little time to realize why Kol had wanted to keep tabs on her and to ensure she didn't take a life; he had known how she would react when the body count was totaled.

"Everything you did you never would have done if you hadn't flipped the switch, and you wouldn't have flipped the switch if you hadn't been bound to Damon."

"I might have done a few things eventually," Elena bit her bottom lip and tilted her head.

"I'm really hoping you're talking about the girl they caught you with and not the…"

"Man I drained?" Elena cocked an eyebrow. "Yeah, Jer, I'm talking about her. Eventually I think I would have… maybe."

Jeremy shook his head and laughed.

"What's so funny?"

"Just… you," he chuckled. "Could you imagine the look on Stefan and Damon's faces if you said see ya to both and choose Caroline or Bonnie?"

The image flashed unbidden through her mind and brought a smile to her face.

"You know…" she released the chain and tucked her hair behind her ear, "… when I imagined coming out as bi that was not the reaction I was expecting."

"Do you want me to yell instead and tell you you're disowned instead?" He turned to face her.

Elena shook her head and sighed.

"No," she smiled, "I like this better."

"Good," Jeremy smirked, "I don't think I could get through the tirade with a straight face."

"I'm still sorry," she held up her hand before he could tell her not to do it. "I turned it off Jer. It was me. I knew I couldn't stay as I was and I turned it off, and I'd rather not argue about whose really at fault because I see at as me. So… I'm sorry."

"You're not gonna let it go until I tell you its okay?" Jeremy sighed when she nodded. "I forgive you, Elena." He reached out and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "You're my sister; I'd probably forgive you for anything."

"Thank you," Elena closed her eyes and laid her head on his shoulder.

They lapsed into silence for several moments before he reached up and rubbed the back of his neck.

"What made you turn it on?"

Elena drew in a deep breath and straightened up. Her eyes zeroed in on the mailbox and the raised flag.

"Klaus…" her voice was barely more than a whisper. "Klaus showed up and daggered Kol."

A line appeared between Jeremy's brows. Last he had checked his sister couldn't have cared less about what happened to the Originals.

"That… that made you turn it on?" He shifted to watch her profile.

"I… I um," she cleared her throat and shifted on the swing. "I got mad… I got really mad."

"Why?" He tilted his head and frowned. "Don't get me wrong;" he held up his hands when she looked at him, "I'm glad you did it, but why? I don't understand."

Elena drew her bottom lip between her teeth and nibbled on the flesh that had returned to normal during their discussion. In a matter of seconds it was swollen again. Part of the last two days had been spent figuring out how she would ever make things up to her brother and friends, and the rest had been devoted to puzzling over the reason her switch had flipped back.

"He… he helped me. He cared, and when I… when I realized that Klaus was going to… going to steal more time I couldn't… I couldn't stop it." She brought her hands up to rub her temples and slid her fingers down to cover her lips. "He took me out the other night and told me why he had turned it off after the transition and I almost turned it on, but I ran. I ran until everything was buried again before going back."

She left out the part where she had kissed him and Kol had nearly made her flip it on in the ensuite. That was a conversation for girlfriends not for brothers.

"I came to ask you something." Elena straightened back up and faced him once more. "I want you to stop looking for the cure. I want you to stop killing vampires. I don't want it, Jer."

He tilted his head and searched her features.

"Is this about Kol?"

"Kol?" A line appeared between Elena's brows.

"You like him."

It was a statement of fact, and he knew he was right when she looked away and attempted to hide her blush.

"I… that's not…" she swallowed and exhaled. "It's about me Jer; it's my choice. I don't want the cure, and I'm not sure I ever really did."

He gave her a sceptical look but nodded all the same. He'd have a hard time getting Klaus off his back, but he was fairly confident that the hybrid wouldn't kill him. Heck, he might even respect Elena's decision and turn his sights around to the other. Jeremy might have helped in that case; he didn't like the other doppelganger and would have no problem condemning her to the life Klaus had once planned for Elena.

"Are you coming home?"

"If you'll have me," Elena looked up hopefully.

"Of course I'll have you," Jeremy wrapped an arm around her shoulder, "it's your house."

"Then I'm coming home," Elena smiled and stood up, "but first I need to get my things, and I have another apology to make." She had already spoken to Caroline and Bonnie, and had no desire to talk to the Salvatores yet, but there was one more person; one she had barely spoken to since flipping it back.

"I'll see you for dinner?" Jeremy lifted his brows hopefully. "We can order in your favorite Chinese food."

"I'm coming home Jer," Elena smirked, "you don't have to bribe me."

"Frozen pizza it is."

"Maybe a little bribery…" Elena laughed.

Jeremy was still grinning when she vanished from the front porch. He waited a minute before standing up and crossing the lawn to get the mail.

With the bills in his hand his lips turned down into a confused frown. After activating whatever it was that made him a hunter his senses had heightened, and the moment he picked up the bundle of paper the hair on the back of his neck stood on end.

He closed the box and looked around slowly but couldn't find a source. The strong sense that eyes were watching him wouldn't leave. Just when he was giving up and turning around the clouds shifted overhead and the sun caught on something across the street.

The light momentarily blinded him. He lifted his hand and blinked but before he could move the glint of sunlight shifted and he was knocked off his feet.

* * *

He glanced up from the novel when he heard the front door open and close. A few seconds later the sound of light footsteps came from down the hall. Climbing to his feet he picked up another book and flashed through the house to lean in the door.

He had stopped wondering why he reacted to her the way he did. He watched Elena folding clothes and knew the reason his heart wrenched. He stamped it down and managed a teasing smile.

"You're leaving me then?"

Elena tucked the jeans in her bag and looked up to see him standing with his hands behind his back.

"I think it's time I went home," she shrugged one shoulder, "don't you?" Her eyes dropped to her nearly packed duffle bag that Jeremy had brought after she decided to stay. "I've imposed long enough."

"You're not imposing, darling," he straightened up, "and you're welcome her anytime."

He smirked when the corner of her mouth tipped up. Her quick quip lacked any of the bite it had once held while her emotions were off.

"Careful, Kol, someone might start to think you care."

"I brought you something," Kol chuckled and moved into the room until he stood beside her at the foot of the bed. "A little something for turning it back on."

"You didn't have to do that," Elena's eyes darted to his arm that was still behind his back. She held up her hand in an attempt to stop him. "Seriously, you've done enough for me."

"Let me do one more thing," he caught her hand and felt a jolt of electricity shoot up his arm.

Elena held in her gasp at the contact and managed a small nod. Her breath hitched when his fingers grazed hers and a smooth book was placed in her palm.

She tore her gaze from his intense eyes and inhaled sharply. Her voice was little more than a breath of air.

"I thought I told you to burn this."

"Ask any of my siblings and they'll tell you that I never listen," he tilted his head.

"Maybe that's something you should work on," she traced the stamped 'E' in the green leather and smiled.

She sat the journal on top of her folded clothes and tucked her hair behind her ear. She knew how she felt about him, and a part of her didn't want to admit it because he was an Original and she shouldn't feel the way she did. Her friends would have called her crazy and done everything to convince her she was being stupid, and a few months ago it might have been enough to change her mind but things had changed. A part of her didn't care about what they thought; he had been nothing but kind to her even when she'd tried to kill him.

"Thank you," she bit her bottom lip, "I'm glad you didn't listen."

"You're welcome," he smiled. His eyes darted to her mouth and he had to force himself to stamp down his sudden desire to grab her hips and pull the lip she was biting into his own mouth.

"I uh…" Elena licked her lips and twisted her daylight ring around her finger. "I asked Jeremy to stop looking for the cure."

"I… Why would you do that?" Her words took a moment to register. "I thought you hated being a vampire."

Elena shrugged and bit into her bottom lip again.

"It's… it's not a choice I would have made," her eyes darted to his, "but unleashing hell on earth hardly seems worth it."

He blinked slowly and tilted his head to the side. The amused smile he had forced on fell to a deep frown. The thought of her choosing to die wasn't sitting well with him, but he couldn't understand how she had come to be where she was.

"Why transition at all then?"

Elena sighed and turned around to sit on the bed; her fingers traced the soft patterns in the bed spread. Just when he was giving up on ever getting an answer her voice became a breath of air in the room and drew him down onto the edge of the mattress beside her.

"My friends were in trouble; locked up with vervain being filtered in through the vents. Everybody was going to die… I was dying, but then one of the guards was shot. His blood…" she took a deep breath as the hazy memory surfaced. "His blood pooled and it leaked under the bars of my cell, and I… I…"

"You turned to save your friends."

"And your sister," she twisted on the bed to face him. "She was there too; probably the only one who would have survived."

His brows creased as the gears turned in his mind.

"You… you saved my sister after she killed you?"

"She had her reasons," Elena sighed. "Alaric would have come after all of you."

"You almost sound like you've forgiven her." He shifted on the bed so his knee brushed hers.

She pressed her lips together and inhaled slowly while mulling over her thoughts.

"I… I understand her. I can't say that I would have done the same thing, but I definitely would have done something drastic, so… yeah maybe I have." She released a self-deprecating laugh. "I've clearly got some deep psychological issues to work through."

He held the bag closed for her to zipper it.

"Luckily you've got an eternity to analyze yourself."

"I don't suppose you can recommend a good psychiatrist?" She met his laughing eyes.

"Sorry, love."

Her breath caught in her throat when she realized just how close they were sitting. She hadn't been this close to him since coming on to him in the bathroom.

Elena stood and slung her bag over her shoulder before she caved to her desire. She cleared her throat and pressed her lips together.

"About the other night…" she tucked her hair behind her ear. "I'm sorry I ran off, and I'm sorry if I… if I scared you."

"What makes you think you scared me?" He stood from the bed to stand in front of her.

"It might have had something to do with the 'self-preservation' comment," she smirked. Her amusement fell when he pulled her bag from her shoulder. "What are you doing?"

"I'm going to drive you home."

"You don't have to," she reached for the bag.

"I know," he smirked and held the duffle out of her reach, "but I want to."

"Why?" She tilted her head.

"Maybe I'm not ready to say goodbye yet."

* * *

For the last two blocks Elena had been silent as she battled with that part of her that didn't want to get out of the car but she couldn't be silent when they turned onto her street.

"What's going on?" Her eyes darted from the crowd congregating around her house to the myriad of police cars with flashing lights.

Her heart seemed to have stopped in her chest. She couldn't hear it beating anymore; she couldn't hear anything over the piercing blare of the sirens.

In a daze she opened the car door and stepped out. She registered Kol a few steps behind her in the same way she knew where her hands were. The panic twisting her abdomen into a knot meant she didn't analyze the thought too much; in fact the idea flew from her mind as she got closer and closer to the house.

Through the line of deputies trying to hold her back she saw four people near the center of the circle. Three of which she recognized. Stefan and Damon were staring at the ground in shock when she pushed through with Kol, but it was the look of horror on Klaus' face that finally made her turn around.

An open mouth, wide unseeing eyes, and a mess of blood greeted her senses. Somewhere in the distance she heard someone screaming, but it wasn't until Kol's arms wrapped around her waist that she realized the inhuman sound was coming from her.

"Elena," Kol pulled her to his chest to keep her from falling onto the prone body. The smell of her salty tears mixed with the blood that was soaking into the grass. He saw Klaus murmuring to the Sheriff when Elena's capillaries darkened; he tightened his hold on the screaming brunette and attempted to quiet her down.

"Let's get this place cleared out," Liz waved to the deputies.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do you think? Did anyone see this coming after the last chapter?
> 
> Anyway... there are three chapters left and unless I make major changes the last one is actually typed out. I wonder if I could finish this story before the new year?


	8. Anything Else

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own TVD or TO.

His heart clenched when he saw her. In the thirty minutes since he had left the Gilbert House to change she had found her way into her brother's room. Her dark hair fanned over the green pillow. The moment his eyes landed on her still frame he knew he shouldn't have left; the only reason he had was because Caroline and Bonnie were with her.

They were supposed to have taken her with them.

* * *

_His brows knit together when he stepped from his car into the black sea of bodies. They shifted and rolled in time with the grey clouds overhead; it took him a moment to locate the smaller party in the crowd for some guy with the large extended family._

_"Caroline," he came up beside the blonde and looked around, "where is she?"_

_Caroline blinked and shrugged. "She said she needed a minute."_

* * *

"Darling?"

Fear chilled his soul when she didn't answer. She didn't even acknowledge his presence.

He could see the slight tremor of her shoulders as he stepped up beside the bed. He didn't have to hear her voice to know it was thick with unshed tears.

"Elena," he sat and laid his hand on her upper arm, "please talk to me?"

She hugged the pillow to her stomach and sniffled. The slight movement made the lace shift on her arm; it scratched and scraped her soft skin. She hated the black dress. She despised what it represented, and had hoped not to wear it again for at least half a century.

She wanted to tear the black material from her body and throw it in the fireplace. She wanted to ball it up and never look at it again, and more than anything she wanted to stay far away from the cemetery because going meant it was true.

Leaving the house meant the last of them was gone, the person she was supposed to protect was gone, and wasn't coming back.

Kol's hand slid up her shoulder to smooth her hair back from her pale cheek. She was paler than he could ever remember seeing her, and for a moment he was thrust a thousand years into the past.

His hold on her was light. He feared that if he put too much pressure on her she would break into a million pieces, and he had never been any good at jigsaw puzzles; it would take him an eternity to put her back together.

"Darling," his tone shifted to pleading, "it's time for the funeral." He knew she didn't want to go, but he also knew she would never forgive herself if she didn't.

Even with his vampire hearing he almost missed her murmured reply.

"He always comes back…" she rolled onto her back and released a shaky breath. "He always came back."

Kol followed her teary eyes to the ring she held in her palm. He hadn't seen it until she let go of the pillow.

"Elena…"

For the first time in a thousand years he found himself at a loss for words, so instead of speaking he gently took the ring from her hand and set it on the nightstand.

"How am I supposed to do this?" She was certain her lungs were filling with water, or the grief equivalent of water. Her entire body felt like it was made of lead. "I don't know… he's my baby brother… I wasn't supposed to have to do this yet." The tears welled in her eyes. "I don't know what to do."

She blinked up at him pleadingly.

"What do I do?"

He cupped her cheek and swiped away the single tear with his thumb.

"You start by standing up," he met her watery eyes and helped her to her shaking legs, "and then you put one foot in front of the other."

* * *

_Put one foot in front of the other, Elena; just one foot at a time._

Her grip on the umbrella was white knuckled. As she stepped away from the small crowd the soft chatter died away and all she could hear was the heavy patter of rain on the black umbrella.

In a daze she picked up a clod of dirt. Her grip on the handle grew slack as her eyes zeroed in on the mahogany coffin until the umbrella eventually slipped from her fingers.

The water quickly saturated her dress and plastered her hair to her neck. Her tears merged with the rain until she didn't know which water was which and she didn't care. All she could do was stare.

She stared at the coffin and the graves not twenty feet away. With her vampire senses she could easily read every name: Grayson, Miranda, John, Jenna. The sorrow clawed up her throat and wrenched at her heart as she lifted her gaze. Through the downpour her eyes found the spot where Isobel had torn her necklace off and burned alive.

She couldn't see the tomb through the rain, but she knew it was just beyond the trees in a small clearing: the place where Esther had changed the course of her life.

From the corner of her eye she could see Elijah, Klaus and even Rebekah. She didn't see Kol, but she knew it was his hand on her elbow and his umbrella over her head.

She could feel the gaze of each of her friends: Bonnie, Caroline, Matt, Stefan and Damon. All of them had known loss, but only Matt might have been capable of understanding exactly where she resided in the pit of despair. Only Matt had lost every member of his family.

 _You did this,_ her breath came in ragged pants,  _it's all your fault. None of it would have happened if you hadn't been born._

Somewhere in the back of her mind she realized she was beginning to hyperventilate. Her eyes dropped to her hand and the clod of dirt that had turned to mud in her fist.

She couldn't let go. Instead her fingers curled tighter and tighter until the dirt pressed between her fingers and fell in clumps onto the smooth surface of the coffin.

She pulled her arm free and backed away slowly. Specters sprang up in her vision around every grave. She knew she should stay until the coffin was completely covered, it was what was expected, but all she could see was the dead closing in on her.

Kol thanked anyone that might have been listening that everyone in attendance was a vampire or a witch; otherwise they would have had a lot of explaining to do when Elena vanished in a rush of wind.

Caroline reached out and grabbed Stefan and Damon's arms.

"Let her go," she dug in her heels, "she's probably going home. We can catch up at the reception."

 _No she's not,_ Kol sighed.

* * *

When he was right he was right, but he supposed Caroline had been correct as well… in a sense.

Elena hadn't been in her house, but she was in his.

He stepped through his foyer and loosened his black tie while walking up the stairs towards her room. Sure enough she was there.

He drew in a shallow breath when he found her. She stood in the shower under the steaming spray of water fully clothed. He could see the shivers racing up and down her spine in spite of the scalding water and toed off his shoes and socks already knowing he would have to pull her out.

Her arms trembled as her body split in two. The cracks in her heart were letting out every drop of blood and making it impossible to get warm.

"I can't do this."

His blood ran cold.

"I c-can't f-feel it Kol," her shoulders shook, "it's too much. I c-c-c…"

"Elena," his heart dropped into his stomach, "please…"

He stepped into the spray and felt his clothes stick to his skin.

"Do you know why I didn't want to flip it back?" Her heart fought a losing battle with her head. "It was this… this grief. I've felt nothing but grief for two years."

"Please…" he swallowed thickly and reached for her shaking shoulder, "… please don't turn it off again."

"I… I c-can't handle it, Kol," her bottom lip trembled. "I c-can't feel this."

"Then feel something else… anything else."

Elena searched in vain but the only emotion she could summon was the soul-crushing sadness that never left.

"There's nothing else," her voice was small.

It was desperation that fueled his next action. That was all he could think to describe it. In his mind he told himself he was trying to summon shock or anger.

He took hold of her hips and spun her around into the wall before crashing his lips to hers in a hard kiss.

His hope was to make her angry and he half expected her to draw back her arm and slap him.

Elena froze as the hard pressure of his lips turned soft and heat began to furl through her. Her eyes drifted shut as her hands came up to splay over his chest.

His hand came up to cradle the back of her head. When she didn't push him away and scream he swept his tongue along the seam of her lips to ask for entrance to her mouth and was mildly surprised when she gave it. He poured every emotion he had into the kiss in a desperate attempt to show her that he did care.

He broke from her lips and rested his forehead against hers. Her ragged breaths fanned across his chin and sent tendrils of heat down his spine. He wanted to press his lips to hers again, but he refrained; she would have to make the next move.

Elena swallowed and basked in the warmth that spread through her body wherever he touched her. She wanted him to chase away the cold.

She was Pandora and he was at the bottom of the box. Famine, war and strife had nothing on hope.

Her fingers curled around the wet material of his tie so she could pull him closer.

* * *

Caroline couldn't stop her eyes from rolling when she saw her mom step into the Gilbert house and the wake Elena had thrown herself into planning.

"Really," she got a strange sense of déjà vu when she approached, "you couldn't take the uniform off for this?"

Liz's eyes flickered with sorrow. "I'm here in an official capacity Caroline. I have to speak with Elena." She looked around for the brunette.

"She disappeared," Caroline shrugged, "I've been holding down the fort." She looked her mother over critically. "What's going on?"

"Some new information has come to light." Liz hesitated. "It's about Jeremy, and I have to speak with her."

"New information?" Klaus stepped up beside Caroline. His eyes narrowed suspiciously. "What would that be Sheriff?"

"Klaus!" Caroline snapped. She had caught the menacing undertone in his voice and dropped her voice to a whisper. "Not today please. Could you just act like a… like a human for one day."

For a moment he looked like he wanted to argue but it was a simple request so he asked again in a more civil tone. He suspected the only reason Liz Forbes answered was because she knew Elena would tell Caroline anyway.

"The coroner's report came back and the investigation has been reclassified."

"As what?" Caroline tilted her head.

"Homicide."

* * *

His hands were everywhere: peeling the wet dress from her body, pressing into her quickly warming skin, and pulling her flush against him. His lips and tongue followed a path only he knew down the column of her throat and across the tops of her breasts.

She wondered if he knew about the intense devotion displayed in each press of his lips. Could he feel the longing in her fingers as she slipped his shirt down his arms?

* * *

Elijah stepped into the kitchen after closing the door on the last of the mourners. The funeral and burial had been private, but since Jeremy was a member of a founding family the wake was open to the rest of the town and anyone who wanted to offer their condolences.

It was a true testament to Elena's character that so many had shown up in a show of support. He couldn't say he blamed her for not showing up.

"Who would want to kill Jeremy?" Klaus paced the length of the kitchen.

"Someone who didn't want the cure to be found." Bonnie stared at the knotted wood of the table as if the twisted surface had answers.

"Who wouldn't want it found?" Elijah's eyes tracked Klaus' swift movement.

"Kol," Damon scoffed. He knew he had everyone's attention when Elijah and Klaus turned to him with a critical eye. "Oh come on," he held up his hands, "he killed a dozen vampires to slow the progress of the mark, and even threatened to tear off Jeremy's arm."

Bonnie bit her bottom lip and looked up.

"He is paranoid of Silas."

* * *

Her back arched off the bed under the heated assault of his mouth. The fire beneath her skin rose to an inferno with every swipe of his tongue, but it was his fingers that pushed her over the brink.

A pillow was knocked to the floor by the crashing wave.

* * *

Elijah shook his head slowly, but he could see the anger flashing in Klaus' eyes.

"Kol wouldn't do this."

Klaus scoffed. "Kol wouldn't do what: compel someone to kill a man he couldn't? Because I think he would."

"They were friends," Caroline shook her head. She cringed under the sceptical glares of everyone at the table. "They were…" she insisted, "… sort of…"

"Kol has turned on his own family, sweetheart," Klaus grumbled.

"In his defense," Rebekah leaned back in her chair, "you did provoke him."

"On countless occasions," Elijah chimed in.

"Oh shut up," Klaus grumbled. "The point is that he has no problem turning on anyone. In a thousand years he's not cared for anyone but himself."

"If that were true he would have killed Elena months ago," Stefan murmured. If he didn't care about anyone why had he helped Jeremy? Why had he rescued Elena?

Klaus gripped the counter hard enough to dent the underside of it.

"He still might."

* * *

Her legs wrapped tightly around his waist to pull him as close as possible. She sighed as he held her hand above her head. Every roll of his hips drew a breathy moan from her lips.

The tables turned when she rolled them over and arched her back and tightened her muscles around him. For a moment he let her take complete control and groaned as she rode him before he pressed his fingers into her hips.

She gasped when her back hit the mattress and he swallowed her moans.

He slipped a hand between their bodies to manipulate her swollen clit and push her higher and higher to the state of bliss he knew was hovering over them.

* * *

"Elena didn't want the cure either," Stefan almost regretted saying it when he saw Klaus' eyes flash.

"She told me as much last week when I daggered Kol."

Rebekah's smile was sickeningly sweet. "Maybe they planned it together."

Caroline's eyes narrowed. "Elena wouldn't kill her own brother."

"Are you forgetting that she flipped the switch?" Damon rolled his eyes.

"She flipped it back," Caroline crossed her arms.

"Did she?" Damon cocked an eyebrow. Elena hadn't spoken to either him or Stefan since she had 'flipped it back' which lead him to believe it was all an act.

"She did."

Klaus surprised everyone by confirming it.

"She flipped it back a few days before Jeremy was killed. You can't fake that kind of anger."

"She could have done it before," Stefan tapped the table.

"No," Elijah shook his head. He could believe almost anything, but he wouldn't believe Elena would plot her own brother's murder.

* * *

He could feel her heart beating through her back and smell himself under her skin. The rapid rhythm moved in time with his and brought a small smile to his face. He traced long forgotten runes over her bare stomach and felt the shiver course through her body.

Elena covered his hand and ran her thumb over his knuckles. In spite of her pounding heart she was calmer. The sadness was still there but the cold had dissipated; it was hard to be cold in his arms. There was a quiet strength in his embrace.

It felt like coming home; like it was where she was meant to be.

She closed her eyes and pressed her lips together.

"How do you do it? How do you go on?"

He inhaled slowly and pressed a soft kiss to her shoulder.

"I shut it off for nine hundred years, darling. You're asking the wrong person. All I can tell you is what I wish someone had told me."

"What's that?" She blinked slowly and turned her neck so she could look at him.

"Find something," he met her eyes, "that makes life worth living; something that makes you want to get out of bed every day."

Elena bit her bottom lip and looked down to their joined hands on her stomach. She closed her eyes and breathed in slowly.

"I… I know after what just happened that…" she swallowed and peered through her lashes, "… that this might sound… sound cruel, but…"

Kol's heart stuttered when she fell silent.

"You can't see anything right now," his slid his hand over her hip. "It's alright, darling; I get it."

He sat up and shifted as if to stand.

Elena rolled onto her back and grasped his wrist.

"I don't want to face the world yet," she pushed up onto her elbow, "but I don't want you to go."

"Careful darling, I might start to think you care," he flashed a small smile.

"Please don't go," she blinked slowly. The words she wanted to say were stuck in her throat.

He searched her weary gaze and slowly laid back down.

"Never," he swore, "I'll stay until hell freezes over."

Elena wrapped her arm around his waist and pressed her ear over his heart. Her murmured voice brought a soft smile to his lips.

"Careful, Kol. I might start to think you care."

"I do care," he slid his arm under her body to hug her closer and pressed a kiss to the top of her hair. "Maybe one day you can admit that too," his fingers danced along her spine, "but for now just find something to go on for."

Elena bolted up with a shriek when a rush of wind announced the arrival of Klaus. She clutched the sheet to her chest and tried to regulate her breathing.

"Perhaps I can help with that," Klaus made no comment about their current state of undress, "the coroner's report came back."

"Does she really need to hear the details of the drive-by?" Kol's eyes narrowed into a glare.

"Yes she does."

Elena had been prepared to tell Klaus off, but she got the sense Elijah wouldn't have stepped into the bedroom if it weren't important. Her eyes flickered from one Original to the other as Kol's hand settled on the small of her back.

"What do I have to know?"

Kol adjusted the slipping sheet and breathed slowly. He wasn't thrilled with the guests in the room, and was even less thrilled with the knowledge that the sheet was hiding absolutely nothing from his brothers who had each known an incarnation of her body. He forgot all of that when Elijah produced a folder from inside his suit jacket.

Before they could tell her what they had learned the room became even more crowded.

Elena flushed under the accusatory stares of Damon, Stefan and Bonnie; only Caroline appeared undisturbed by the scene in front of her.

"What the fuck Elena?" Damon's eyes darted to Kol. His stomach clenched when a low growl came from the youngest of the Original brothers.

"How long has this been going on?" Stefan's brows lowered.

Elena blinked slowly and shifted marginally so her back pressed farther into his warm palm. She had apologized for a lot of things since turning it back on, but she wouldn't apologize for this.

"It's new," she inhaled slowly and willed her blush to leave.

"Perhaps this conversation could wait until she's got some actual clothes on?" Rebekah drawled from the door. "Unlike the rest of you I'm not keen on a naked Petrova."

"Don't knock it till you've tried it sister," Klaus smirked.

That was the final straw for Elena. She grabbed the pillow and chucked it at Klaus' head. She would have loved to throw something heavier but reaching something that would cause physical pain would have required exposing herself to the rest of the room.

"Get out," Elena nodded to the door.

"We'll join you when we're dressed," Kol added with a slight chuckle.

Klaus looked between the couple on the bed and shrugged.

"Five minutes," he warned them.

"Or what?" Elena crossed her arms.

"He'll likely storm back in and drag you downstairs," Elijah sighed. He took his half-brother's arm and pulled him from the room.

Caroline flashed Elena a look that said 'details later' and yanked the door shut behind everyone.

Elena's eyes fell to the crumpled clothing trailing out from the bathroom and landed on black lace.

"I really hate that dress."

"Wait here," Kol pressed a kiss to her cheek, "I'll be right back." He smiled when her eyes flashed with fear and leaned closer to murmur into her ear. "Just close your eyes, love, and count to five."

Elena exhaled slowly and nodded. She felt the rush of wind with the number one, and by the time she got to five he was in front of her with a small pile of clothes.

She arched an eyebrow and pulled on the t-shirt that fell to the middle of her thighs.

"Sorry, darling," he smirked, "you packed everything up, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't like this look on you."

Elena couldn't stop the small smile that lifted the corner of her mouth. She bent to retrieve her underwear.

"I really like this look on you," he tilted his head and snickered when she straightened. The glare on her face was in severe danger of melting into a smile.

She only managed the stern look for a second before it morphed into a soft smile. She slipped into her panties and tipped her head back when he took her hips.

His teasing smile turned serious.

"Are you ready?"

"Ready or not doesn't matter," she shrugged, "Klaus will drag me out either way because apparently there's something I have to know."

He took her hand and stepped with her into the hall.


	9. Anger

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own TVD or TO.
> 
> I did it y'all. I finished writing the story. Just for the record this is not the last chapter, but they are all done.

"What do you mean 'it was deliberate'?" Elena licked her lips. She could feel her heart beginning to hammer in her chest.

Damon leaned back against the wall and watched the warring emotions in her eyes. He still doubted she had turned it on, but if she had he would be in for a treat when she hauled off and punched Kol in the face; maybe she would even break his nose.

"We mean somebody killed him," Damon rolled his eyes, "and signs are pointing towards a vampire."

"Then they've likely already killed themselves," Kol frowned.

"One aware of the hunter's curse," Klaus cocked an eyebrow.

"The coroner's report indicates a professional hit," Rebekah didn't glance up from where she was inspecting her nails.

"Are you telling me somebody assassinated my brother?" Elena felt like she was sitting on a fence and at any moment she was going to tip over into all-consuming rage or soul-shattering despair. "Who would… why would…"

Her nails dug into the back of the sofa. The fabric split beneath her fingers.

"Oh let's see," Damon straightened his cuffs, "who wanted to prevent the cure being found at any cost?"

Elena's eyes narrowed. She knew that tone. It was the way Damon spoke to her when he knew something she didn't know but expected her to know it anyway. The patronization had always grated on her nerves. She looked up to see an accusatory glint in Klaus' eyes, an exasperated sigh on Elijah's lips, and a pointed gaze being directed from Damon; she followed their eyes at the same moment Kol realized he was the centre of attention.

He might have noticed sooner if he hadn't been so focused on the irregular beating of Elena's heart.

"Me?" The thought of ever actually harming Jeremy Gilbert had never crossed his mind. He might have threatened to, but he threatened everyone. He had once sworn he was going to kill Rebekah, but the worst he had done was ruin her favorite dress.

"Why the bloody hell would you think I did it?" His eyes narrowed. The thought that Elena would believe her friends accusation made his stomach knot. She had known him less than six months.

"Maybe because you're afraid of Silas," Rebekah lifted her eyes from her manicure. Truthfully she didn't care who had done it, but a small part of her ached for Elena; she knew what it was to lose a baby brother.

"Did you do it?" Klaus growled. Kol was known to deceive, but even as a child he would give it up after being caught in the act.

Elena shivered as her head swam. She stood from the chair and turned around to face him, but over every other heart in the room she couldn't pinpoint his.

"No," he struggled to maintain his anger at the accusation. It was easier when he met Elena's flickering eyes. "No; I didn't do it."

Elena's breath seemed to still in her lungs; his voice reached her from underwater.

"You're not buying this?" Damon snorted and waved to Kol. "Who else would have done it?"

"You suggested she did," Stefan crossed his arms.

Elena spun on her heel so fast to flash across the room that Klaus and Elijah, who had yet to witness her speed, were impressed. Caroline brought her hand up to hide her grin when Elena slapped hard enough to knock his head around into the wall causing a painting to crash to the floor.

One of the benefits of living with Kol for so long meant she knew the house and was able to quickly disappear into the library.

"Should I take that as a yes?" Damon rubbed his jaw.

Caroline raised her hand and smacked the back of his head.

"You should take that as: Damon, you're an idiot, and how dare you accuse me of killing my own brother." Caroline stepped out into the hall to find Kol standing outside of a closed door; she could hear Bonnie telling Damon how tactless he was.

"Elena," Kol twisted the locked doorknob, "please open the door? I'd rather not break it down."

Caroline came up beside him and placed her palm flat against the wood. She gave him a look that said 'let-me-try' and closed her eyes.

"Elena, can we talk?" She frowned when she heard nothing from inside. "Are you sure she's in here?"

Kol nodded and ran a hand through his short hair. "I had a witch spell all of the rooms so you can't hear what's going on inside if the door is shut."

"Can she hear us?" Caroline rocked back on her heels. At Kol's nod she knocked again. "Come on, 'Lena, open the door. We can talk about anything you want."

She held her breath; it came out in a sigh of relief when the lock clicked and the door opened a crack. She could see the urgency in Kol's shoulders and held up a hand.

"Give me a few minutes."

It took all of his self-control to nod and watch the blonde step into the room. He leaned back against the door and closed his eyes to think of anyone and everyone who might have orchestrated Elena's heartache. It had been a long time since his list had held anyone else's name besides Klaus, but he knew it was about to double in length.

* * *

Caroline closed the door and twisted to face Elena. The brunette had slid down the wall and now sat with her chin propped on her bent knees. It was dark in the library but she could see the shimmering tears that tracked down her friend's cheeks.

"They all think I did it," Elena's voice was small. "They think I killed my brother."

"I don't."

Caroline slid down the wall until her hip brushed against Elena's. The slight contact was enough for Caroline to feel the vibrations brought forth by Elena's shivers.

"I don't believe it. Elijah doesn't believe it. Klaus doesn't believe it."

She wrapped her arm around Elena's back and brought the brunette's head to her shoulder.

"I don't think Bonnie believes it either, and Kol definitely doesn't."

"Damon does," Elena muttered, "and Stefan does."

"Screw them. You didn't kill your brother, and you didn't plan for someone else to do it. The only reason Damon suggested it was because of the way you acted without your humanity when you said you didn't want the cure."

"I still don't want it," Elena sniffled. "The morning I went to talk to Jeremy I asked him to stop looking. I never wanted to be a vampire, but I don't think I should waste my life searching for a cure that will unleash hell on earth."

"You believe Kol?"

Caroline rubbed Elena's shoulder and felt her nod. She could smell the ancient vampire beneath her skin.

"Do you believe he didn't do it either?"

Elena nodded again. She didn't know why or how she knew it, but she knew with a calm certainty that he hadn't arranged Jeremy's murder.

"You might want to tell him that," Caroline cleared her throat. "You should have seen the look on his face when I came in. I think he likes you."

"Yeah," Elena murmured.

"Do you like him?"

Elena stiffened slightly. Her heart was screaming yes while her head said it was too soon to feel the way she did.

"Jer just died Care."

"I know, but that doesn't change the way you feel. Maybe you're not ready to say it yet, but you do like him."

Elena leaned back and tipped her head so it hit the wall. Caroline was too intuitive for her own good.

"How can you tell?"

"I can smell him all over you," Caroline smirked. "I could also smell you all over him. Did you two…?"

"Have sex?" Elena laughed through her tears. "You all kind of walked in on that."

"Not that," Caroline shook her head. "Did you… did you blood share?"

Elena turned sharply to look at her. How had Caroline known? Was there still blood on her neck?

"Sex leaves an imprint on the skin," Caroline shrugged, "but blood sharing lingers beneath."

Elena swept her hair back over her shoulders and braced her elbows on her knees again.

"I… I had an impulse." She couldn't think of another way to describe the burning need that had brought her teeth to the juncture where his neck met his shoulder.

"Yeah," Caroline nodded, "I know that impulse." She could vividly recall the moonlight turning a ring of blood nearly black.

Elena wrinkled her nose and inhaled. Amongst the leather, musty pages, and flowers she could smell her blood and Kol's lingering under her skin. She could also smell Caroline and something… someone else that smelled familiar.

"Caroline have you been blood sharing?"

"No…" she flushed under Elena's sceptical look, "… not recently… it's been a few days."

"Then why can I still smell it?"

Caroline's brows lowered as she lifted her wrist and inhaled. Her eyes grew round at the smell assaulting her senses.

"I don't know," she lowered her hand, "but I'm going to find out. Are you alright to talk to him now?"

* * *

Kol straightened up as the door opened. He barely waited for Caroline's nod before slipping inside.

Caroline brought her wrist to her nose again and inhaled. The smell should have left her days ago but it lingered still in her blood; it was faint, only the smallest of traces, but it was there.

Her heels clicked on the hardwood floor all the way back to the living room. She didn't say a word; she just walked up grabbed his sleeve and pulled him through the house into the kitchen.

"Caroline, love…"

She cut him off by raising her wrist.

"Smell me."

"Odd request," he tilted his head.

"Just do it."

He sighed before inhaling. A line appeared between his brows. He heard her breath hitch when he surged forward and breathed her in. Slowly he lifted her blonde curls and found a small mark.

* * *

The door slid shut behind him with a soft click. He had expected to find her still on the floor where he had caught a glimpse when Caroline went in but she had moved.

She turned around from where she was watching the rain beat against the windows.

"Elena I…" He trailed off when she moved and wrapped her arms around him. For a moment he was immobile. Shouldn't she have slapped him? Shouldn't she be screaming?

Hesitantly his hands slid around her waist; one held her back as the other threaded through her knotted hair.

"I didn't kill your brother, darling."

"I know," she lifted her chin and met his eyes.

His chest flooded with warmth. His fingers rubbed small circles along her scalp.

Elena closed her eyes and let the familiar comfort wash over her from head to toe. The goosebumps that had risen in the living room fled.

"Somebody did," she inhaled the combined smell of them both. She wasn't sure where he ended and she began.

"We'll find out who," determination settled in his chest, "I promise."

She didn't know what to say so she lifted her chin and pressed a soft kiss to his cheek. Her eyes narrowed slightly when she glanced down to the place she had bitten him.

Shouldn't the mark have healed?

* * *

Minutes turned into days and before Elena knew it two weeks had passed and she was stepping into the cemetery. Her fingers traced the stems of the red roses in her left hand.

Every step added to the swell of her anger. It was only being held up by the dam she had erected. Each day it grew a little bigger, a little hotter, and a little harder to hide.

Her feet crossed the familiar path until she was circling around to stand in front of the tombstones. She placed a rose on every grave and knelt to trace the letters on the newest stone.

She was still kneeling in the damp grass when the full moon rose over her head.

"I believe I said something about wanting to be alone," she crossed her arms to ward off a chill.

"You did, darling," he leaned against a tree and watched her silhouette. "Just pretend I'm not here."

"I can't; you're like an extra limb. I know you're there."

She couldn't be too angry with him. He'd only hunted her down because she was out under a full moon.

Kol pushed off from the tree and came up behind her. The tension in her shoulders did not go unnoticed; he'd been feeling it for weeks whenever he was near her. He could only assume it was a by-product of what they had done.

Her fingers lifted to her neck and the bite that had never disappeared from her otherwise flawless skin.

"I can feel you; this spot gets warm whenever you're near." She traced the faint scar and watched as he sat beside her in the grass. "Why hasn't it healed?"

He bent his knee and wrapped his arm around it while shaking his head with a small chuckle.

"I was wondering when you'd ask," he pulled back the collar of his jacket, "it's probably for the same reason mine hasn't."

Elena leaned closer to inspect the teeth marks that were barely visible against his skin; marks that had been inflicted by her. She felt a tiny swell of pride when she saw the scar she had managed to leave on him; it was the first he'd had in a thousand years.

"Why hasn't it healed?" She felt his shiver when she traced the bite.

"It's a mark," he listened to her accelerating heart and allowed the tip of his index finger to ghost over her throat. "Vampires can leave a permanent mark on another vampire."

"Vampires mark each other?" She gave him an incredulous look. "I don't remember doing that."

"Neither do I," he offered a sheepish smile. "I didn't even realize I had done it until we were in the library. I would have told you sooner but you've had a lot to deal with."

"What exactly does this mean?" Her tongue darted out to whet her bottom lip. She focused on his answer to try and forget about the white hot rage simmering in her blood.

"Well," he lifted his gaze to her eyes, "it acts as a deterrent and means you're off limits. Any vampire who sees it will know you've been marked and even if they can't they'll be able to smell me just beneath your skin."

"Off limits?" She cocked her head and narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Kol Mikaelson, did you claim me?"

He bit his lip to try and hide his smile but he knew she caught it when she rolled her eyes.

"You did, didn't you?"

"In my defence," he cleared his throat and held up a finger, "you marked me first."

"So what…" she fell back to sit in the grass, "… I belong to you now? How old world…"

"You could look at it as me belonging to you," he suggested. "That's a little less 'old world'."

"I suppose it is," she sighed.

"Are you alright, love?"

Elena shook her head and pressed her lips into a thin line.

"No; I'm angry. I'm so angry. It's like a hot ball of lead that just keeps getting heavier and heavier."

"Are you angry with me?"

Elena shook her head. She was angry at a lot of people, but not him. She was angry at Esther for what she had done to Alaric. She was ticked off with the Salvatores for their little torture session while she was without humanity. She was upset with herself for being born a doppelganger. But the bulk of her anger centered on a faceless individual.

"You don't know who you're angry with."

"No; I feel like I'm gonna explode."

Kol nodded slowly. He stood up and reached for her hand to pull her to her feet.

"What are you doing?"

He walked backwards to lead her from the cemetery.

"I happen to like you very much the way you are," he flashed her a teasing smile, "so I'm taking you far away from any wolves that might be lurking…" as if on cue a howl echoed from the west, "… and I'm going to help you work out some of that anger."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave a review and let me know what you think.
> 
> I know I promised answers in this chapter and I fully intended to do it but then I got a review that inspired this bonus chapter that I was initially not going to include.


	10. Answers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own TVD or TO.
> 
> One more chapter to post. It features a time jump.

Elijah's arm rested on the hood of the car as he examined the bar exterior. It had taken remarkably little time to locate the name of the establishment where one might find a person holding a specific set of skills. It was amazing, really, how a little money could loosen even the stiffest of tongues. Tracking down one mercenary had been simple, and since it seemed they all knew of each other the man had recognized the signature kill shot of one of his competitors.

"Should we tell her?" Klaus felt the weight of his phone.

"Tell her what?" Elijah slid his hands into his pockets. "We don't know anything yet." He nodded to the door with narrowed eyes. "This man is merely the weapon, and I want to know who pulled the trigger."

"Could be anyone who wants to see my mission fail?"

"You don't think it's about Elena?" Elijah glanced at his brother as they stepped into the bar.

"What enemies could she possibly have?" Klaus scoffed. "Aside from myself of course."

"Well," Elijah shrugged, "she's not fond of Rebekah either."

They made their way to the bar and asked after their target only to be pointed towards a booth in a darkened corner. With their enhanced senses they could easily see the scantily clad blonde draped across the lounging man's lap. He was clearly in his element in fitted jeans and a leather jacket. He oozed confidence and put the brothers in mind of Damon with his cocky smirk.

The man cast them a disinterested gaze as they approached the table. His hand settled on the woman's lower back.

"Sorry gents; I'm not conducting business today."

"I think you'll talk to us," Elijah cocked an eyebrow. He cast the man a self-assured smile; he would talk to them whether it was his idea or not.

The man turned slightly to give them a better look. His eyes flickered between the pair. He might not have been comfortable in fancier clothing but he recognized what was at least a nine thousand dollar suit, high end watch, and expensive shoes; the man radiated wealth and power. The other was dressed in a far more casual manner, but his clothes were designer.

He sat up and pushed the woman away; she left in a bit of a huff.

Elijah stepped aside to let her pass and took a seat.

"You two looking to hire?"

Klaus' mouth lifted in his trademark smirk as he slid into the booth beside the mercenary who couldn't hold a candle to him.

"We do our own killing, mate." He enjoyed the way the man's heart stuttered with sudden fear.  _Good, he's got a sense of self-preservation._

"We have some questions for you," Elijah held in his sigh. He reached into his pocket and extracted a photograph he had taken from the Gilbert house; Elena, Jeremy and their parents smiled up from the glossy paper, but he wasn't looking at them. "Do you recognize him?" He pointed to Jeremy.

Elijah watched the shift in the man's eyes and heard the stutter of his heart. Word had it that Roan Bosc was the best in the business, but the best in the business definitely needed to work on his poker face.

"Never met him before in my life," Roan cleared his throat.

"That's not what he asked, mate," Klaus chuckled.

"We know you killed him," Elijah leaned back and tapped the table. "We want to know who hired you."

Roan's eyes darted to the picture before finding Elijah's gaze again. There was something dangerous behind the mild exterior, but he held his ground.

"I don't squeal on clients." His heart leapt into his throat when his own blade was pressed to his carotid artery. He followed the line of the arm and wondered how and when the blonde man had taken his knife.

"You can give us the name," Klaus smiled as if they were discussing the weather, "or you can bleed out in this booth."

"Niklaus," Elijah breathed. He could feel the tension headache only his siblings were capable of summoning forming behind his eyes. "What happened to compulsion?"

"This is more fun," Klaus shrugged. He locked eyes with Roan and tilted his head.

"The name mate."

"I," he inhaled slowly through his nose, "don't squeal on clients." If word got out that he gave up a client he'd never get work again, but if he didn't give them something he'd never breathe again.

Elijah followed his pointed look to the picture. It took him a second to realize that the man wasn't looking at Jeremy.

Klaus noticed his look a second later and followed the line of his eyes.

"Her?"

Elijah turned the picture around. Three of the four people were dead.

"Elena?"

"Or someone who looks like her," Klaus flipped the knife closed. Part of him was itching to kill the man but dealing with the rest of the bar was not on his to do list that day.

* * *

Klaus glanced over his shoulder as Elijah emerged after having compelled the man to forget their encounter and faces. He tucked his phone back into his pocket and nodded to the car.

"The plane's waiting for us," he opened the driver's side door. "Are you coming?"

Elijah didn't move. His eyes were focused on the photograph in his hand.

"I'll catch up with you in Mystic Falls."

* * *

She crossed the kitchen of her homey New York apartment and pulled open the door. Her annoyed scowl turned to a brilliant grin when she saw her midnight guest.

"If I'd known you were coming I would have answered the door in a little less fabric," she purred.

He stepped around her into the apartment. Normally he would have shed his jacket by now but he kept it in place.

"What's going on?" She closed the door and tucked her dark hair behind her ear.

"Did you kill Jeremy Gilbert?"

"Of course not," she scoffed. "That's completely ridiculous."

"Did you compel a man named Roan Bosc to do it for you?"

"I…"

Elijah could feel his annoyance flaring and made note of the way she wasn't quite meeting his eyes. Her mouth had popped open in shock; it was clear she hadn't expected him to know the name.

"You did." He shook his head. He couldn't find it in him to be disappointed. He wanted to feel shocked but the emotion never came.

"Yes," Katherine crossed her arms defiantly, "I did. Why do you care?" She looked him over slowly. "His own sister doesn't even care."

"She does care," he snapped, "and so do I. She's a girl fated to live the same life you've endured, and now thanks to you the last of her family is gone. You've taken her brother just as your family was taken from you. Why?"

Katherine bristled under his glare and scowled.

"You're looking at me like you think I enjoyed it." She shook her head and huffed. "Jeremy Gilbert was collateral damage. I did what I had to do to survive."

"Excuse me?" His gaze was full of disbelief.

Had she truly just called him collateral damage?

"Oh come on," her voice put him in mind of Damon. It was the same tone the elder Salvatore used when he thought the knowledge should have been common. "Everybody has heard about Elena and Kol."

He couldn't dispute the accusation; he'd practically caught them in the act.

She nodded when he didn't say anything.

"Do you really think Klaus wouldn't have set his sights on me? He hates me and would have gleefully used the cure on me instead."

"I'm surviving Elijah," she stepped closer and let her arms fall to her sides. "It's what I do."

His eyes fell to her hand when it landed on his sleeve in a familiar gesture.

"Is that what I am to you?" His eyes sought her suddenly pale face. "A means of survival."

Her reply came a little too fast along with her heartbeat.

"Of course not," she shook her head quickly. "You looked out for me when nobody else would, and you've given me a second chance. I love you, Elijah." Her heart plummeted at the look in his eye. "You don't believe me?"

He lowered her hand to her side and shook his head.

"I think it's my disease," he exhaled slowly, "to want to believe you, but at every opportunity you give me reason to doubt you. I don't know you," he stepped around her to the door, "and I never will."

"Elijah!"

He froze with his hand on the door.

"Consider this your only warning," he glanced back over his shoulder, "a curtesy for the peasant girl I once loved. Niklaus is on his way back to Mystic Falls carrying the news of your actions. Elena will come after you."

"I'm not afraid of sweet little Elena," Katherine's lips twisted in a sneer.

He heard her heart stutter as he continued speaking.

"She will have the support of Niklaus, and Kol. You said it yourself: everyone has heard about Elena and Kol." He saw her hollow eyes. "She will also have mine, and it is only fair to tell you that her grief is being channeled into rage."

He could still hear her heart pounding when he reached the street.

* * *

"This is your brilliant idea to keep me from blowing up?" Elena cocked an eyebrow and eyed the space he had cleared in the living room.

"You need to blow off some steam," he grinned. "Come on, love. I'm certain you want to hit me."

She held in her exasperated sigh.

"I don't want to hit you."

"Would you like to beat Damon senseless instead?" He tilted his head. "I can hold him down for you."

She shook her head at the amused twinkle in his eyes. There was no doubt in her mind that he'd actually do it; probably with a grin on his face.

"I don't need you to hold him down for me," she ducked out the path of his arm. Instinctively she threw a return punch that landed low and had him doubling over for a second.

"Oh shit," she covered her mouth with her hands. "Did I hurt you?"

"I'm fine," he straightened back up at the speed of light and spun her around. His left hand pinned her wrists behind her back, his right arm draped across her collarbone and held her to his chest. "You might not want to let your guard down so easily."

Elena gasped as his breath fanned over her neck.

"Come on, darling," he breathed against her ear, "find a way out of your situation."

"What if I don't want to?" She turned her neck and watched him through her eyelashes. The hold on her collarbone loosened as she hovered a hairsbreadth from his lips.

She waited until his hand grew slack around her wrists before letting her mouth lift in small smile. With a few fluid movements he landed on his back.

The air was momentarily knocked from his lungs as a warm weight settled over his body. He glanced down to where she was straddling his hips and up to where she held his hands over his head.

Her eyes glittered. The rage she felt was still simmering under the surface and made her actions a little more aggressive than normal. She could think of another way to work out her bottled rage but it was a little early in the relationship to start that. If she was going to take out her anger on him it would be because he had actually done something to make her angry with him.

"You might not want to let your guard down so easily," her eyes flickered to his grin. If she didn't know any better she would have said he was perfectly content in his current position. "Come on, Kol, find a way out of your situation."

"What if I don't want to?"

He moved as close to her as he could after she tightened her hold on his wrists. It was a hollow gesture since they both knew he could easily overpower her.

"You won't distract me again," she shook her head and smiled.

"Oh, darling," he trailed his lips along her jaw, "you've just issued a challenge. You should know I'm very competitive."

"So am I." She bit her lip and held in her sigh.

His mouth made a slow trail along her jaw and down her throat, but through every kiss, lick, and nip she maintained her firm grip on him. Her heart rate increased the further he went, but it wasn't until his tongue traced the claiming mark on her neck that she melted. A bolt of electricity rushed straight to her core sending a flood of arousal to permeate the air.

He took advantage of the sudden melting of her muscles and resolve to flip her over. He enjoyed the mewls and moans falling from her lips so much that he continued working the spot until she rocked up against his stomach in search of friction that he was more than happy to provide.

His hands stole under her shirt and grasped her hips. He quickly repositioned her and hissed when she rocked and dragged over the hard ridge in his pants. He could feel the heat radiating through the layers of fabric.

He dragged his lips back up her neck and pulled back to meet her lidded eyes. Her panting breath made her chest rise and fall rapidly against him.

"That's…" she brought her hand to her throat, "… cheating."

"I didn't know it would affect you like that," he bent to brush his lips across hers gently. "I must say I enjoyed it, though."

She grasped the back of his neck and locked her thighs around his waist. She kissed along his jaw and nibbled on his ear.

"I can tell," her hips rocked up. She dragged her lips down to the bite on his neck and could have sworn she felt him throb where he was pressed between her thighs.

"Any chance you too could be carnal later?"

Elena's eyes snapped open. She fell back to the floor and caught her breath while wondering just how long Klaus had been standing there. At least they were fully clothed this time even if her body screamed at him for coming before she'd had a chance.

"Nik," Kol sighed and sat back to let Elena up, "you've got impeccable timing."

"I did come with the name of her brother's murderer," Klaus leaned in the doorway. His eyes darted from one to the other as he wondered at what point Elena had become extended family; it was probably about the same time Kol had marked her as his. "The moment you get the Bennett witch over here we can start tracking her."

"Who?"

Elena's frustration shifted back into anger. She could feel it curling her fingers into fists.

"Katerina."

"Katharine?" Elena's brows shot up into her hair line.

"Unless there's another doppelganger running around then it's her." Klaus tilted his head and smirked. "I think I'll tear out her liver and maybe feed it to her."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave a review and let me know what you think.


	11. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own TVD or TO
> 
> This is the final chapter of this story. I always intended to end with a journal entry.

_Klaus,_

_Shame on you all; you should have kept a better eye on your 'prisoner', and you really should have known sweet, little Elena wouldn't be able to kill me. Honestly, escaping while you boys were arguing over the next course of action was way too easy._

_I feel confident Elijah won't hunt me down, and Kol will respect his hypocritical girlfriend's wishes because in case you haven't noticed he's wrapped around her little finger._

_Rebekah never cared anyway._

_And as for you; I've got a little something for you. I've caught wind of a witch in New Orleans named Jane-Anne Deveraux plotting a move against you. You should hunt her down because what she has to say will rattle you so deeply to your core that chasing little old me will be the least of your problems._

_It's been a fun five centuries, but I've worn down too many good heels running from you._

_Love and hate,_

_Katerina._

* * *

_I wasn't sure at the time why I kept this letter. I'm still not sure to be honest, but I did keep it._

_She was right. We should have kept a better watch on her once she was in our grasp, but I couldn't bear to look at her. I could barely look at myself. It didn't matter that she had killed countless people in the name of her own survival. And it didn't matter that I had also taken lives while my humanity was gone. When it came down to it I couldn't kill her. I couldn't take another life. I thought when Klaus came to me with the news that she was the only person I would be able to kill, but… I'm not like her._

_I couldn't kill her and I didn't want to watch her die. It seemed Elijah was only willing to stand by while I took her life. My claim, as he said, was more valid than Klaus'; all Katherine had ever done was run from him. But me… her crimes against me were countless._

_Of course the ensuing argument with Klaus gave her the perfect opportunity to escape. It's what she does best. Klaus was going to follow her until he found the letter._

_For once his narcissistic paranoia paid off because there was a witch plotting against him._

_Cassandra of Troy and the Oracle of Delphi couldn't have foreseen the chain of events that would unravel when Klaus broke his curse. Everything traces back to that one full moon when he changed all of our lives._

_How was he supposed to know he would gain fertility?_

_It was a complete fluke really that Hayley should have been in his care during the time everyone was scrambling around for the cure. A little too much to drink and three months later we all found ourselves in New Orleans._

_To think that if I had been capable of killing Katherine we might not have learned of Jane Anne._

_That was six months ago._

_It took less than a week for Klaus to turn on his siblings. It was Elijah first and then Rebekah. He might have even killed her permanently._

_Thankfully Kol and Elijah got wind of it._

_Kol and I left the next morning. He didn't say a word until we three states away and he told me he brought it on himself. Klaus would have killed Rebekah if he hadn't provided the distraction. Telling his half-brother that he was the one who brought Mikael to town a century ago gave Elijah enough time to heal and push a cursed blade through Klaus' heart. He had feared Klaus might come after me in retaliation for the lie._

_I wanted to call him an idiot because surely Rebekah was capable of defending herself. If I'm honest I think I did call him an idiot. The thought that he had put himself in the path of death… it made me angry. I didn't say a word to him for three days after that until he leaned in the door of the hotel suite and broke the silence one night. While he had always been the outcast that didn't mean he could stand to watch a growing rift between Klaus and Rebekah; Klaus never would have forgiven himself for killing her._

_"But he would have if it was you?"_

_"She's my sister, darling. We might fight like cats and dogs, but I'll always stick up for her. Please don't be angry at me for trying to save her life and yours."_

_"I'm not mad at you for saving my life. I'm mad because you made me care about yours."_

_And that was that._

_Months passed without a peep from his family, but we still heard whispers. If Elijah and Klaus are good at one thing it's causing trouble, even when they have good intentions._

_Kol asked me if I wanted to return to Mystic Falls after we left Louisiana, but I couldn't go back there. That town had caused me nothing but pain in recent years, and with Caroline and Bonnie off to Whitmore there was really nothing there anymore._

_As much as I would like to say he was the sun that pulled me out of the dark he wasn't. Kol… he was more like the moon. He brought some light to the dark when I didn't think I'd ever see the sun again without forcing me into the light of day._

_The thought of leaving him never crossed my mind. I played off the desire to stay near while my humanity was gone, but even then I wanted to stay. I tried to push him away after Jeremy, but my feet didn't take me home that day. They took me to his house._

_It's been seven months since I buried my brother and five since we left his._

_Radio silence… it had been nice, but eventually Klaus always calls._

_I've got my fingers crossed that things are on the mend, but I don't know how Klaus is handling losing his child._

* * *

Elena froze in her writing. The sound of tires in the driveway had drawn her from the pages of her journal. She hadn't written a word since learning about her sire bond. She hadn't been able to pick up the pen again until her boyfriend had left to meet his brother.

He was back now.

She carefully tucked the folded papers of Katherine and Elijah's letters into the pages of her journal and placed it on the bookshelf before straightening the window seat and moving towards the stairs.

She was at the bottom in a flash and turning into the kitchen.

A brilliant smile lifted the corners of her mouth when she saw him in front of the table.

"Hey," she bit down on her bottom lip.

"Hello, darling," Kol turned to face her.

Elena released her lip and flashed across the room to wrap her arms securely around his neck. He had been gone since yesterday morning and she was determined to give him a proper welcome. And a proper welcome included a searing kiss that would make him think twice about leaving for an extended period again.

Kol's hands found her hips easily. He could have traced the planes of her body by memory alone. His lips parted for her insistent tongue as his hands slid up the few inches towards her ribs.

Elena nipped at his lip and sucked his tongue into her mouth causing him to groan and pull her impossibly close. She could feel him growing and poking her belly.

It was with great reluctance that she broke the kiss, but even vampires needed to breathe. She busied her mouth by working along his jaw and down his throat.

"What's gotten into you, darling?" He gasped. Her teeth were working the sensitive spot below his ear, the spot that she knew drove him crazy.

"I," she spoke between each lick and nip, "missed you, and I plan," she stretched up on her toes, "to show you," her hands slid down his stomach to his belt, "just how much." Her body sizzled with energy. With a wicked smirk she dropped to her knees.

"Bloody hell," Kol breathed. It took all of his will power to catch her hands. "Elena."

Elena narrowed her eyes and tilted her head. She had used her teeth to unfasten his jeans before, but she had thought she'd skip that tonight. However if he wanted to be teased she wouldn't say no. She was just leaning forward when a soft sound reached her ears.

Rocking back on her knees she turned her neck and felt the line appear between her eyebrows.

"Is that a car seat?"

"Yes," Kol exhaled slowly. He never did understand how she could arouse him so quickly, and under normal circumstances he didn't mind, but there were some things that they needed to discuss.

Elena got to her feet slowly and felt the beginning strains of exasperation.

"Did you kidnap a baby?" She could hear the child's steady heartbeat. Slowly she circled around and looked down into the babe's large blue eyes; there was a devilish hint to the innocent hue, or maybe that was something about the mouth.

"I assure you darling that her father placed her directly in my arms," he watched her unfasten the straps and lift the little girl out.

"Was compulsion involved?" Elena fought down her smile. He knew the one thing she hated about being a vampire was her inability to have children, and if it was a joke it was one thing, but if he actually kidnapped a baby they were about to have a very serious argument. "She can't be more than a few days old."

"She's not," Kol came around and wrapped his arms around Elena's waist.

"Kol?" Elena ran her finger down the child's soft cheek. There was something familiar in her face.

"I did not kidnap this child," he sighed and kissed her neck.

"Then where did she come from?" Elena twisted her head around to meet his twinkling eyes.

"Well Elena," he smirked, "when a mommy and daddy love each other very much…" He grunted when her elbow lightly dug into his stomach.

"That's not what I meant and you know it," she tried not to laugh. "Seriously Kol, where did you get this baby? You were supposed to meet Klaus. How did that go by the way? Are we headed back to New Orleans?"

"He's… what's that term you use love… mellowed?"

"Klaus has mellowed?" Elena cocked an eyebrow. "I think I have to see that too believe it. I thought he'd be in a rage."

"So did I," Kol watched the baby yawn. "New Orleans believes he has shut himself in. Hayley and Elijah as well."

Elena blinked slowly as she processed the information. Shouldn't Hayley have been dead?

"Hayley…"

"Died in childbirth with her baby's blood still coursing through her body," Kol's voice dropped to a low murmur. "She awoke in transition and completed the process a few hours later."

"But how did she…" Elena's eyes slowly fell from Kol's face to her arms. The child had brilliant blue eyes and a stubborn set to her lips; both features were familiar to her. She knew them well, and a cursory smell confirmed her suspicion. Under the human blood there was something else, something older and darker. "What's her name?"

"Hope," Kol lifted one hand to cup the child's head. "Her name is Hope Mikaelson, but…" he turned to meet his lover's eyes, "…I thought we might use yours."

"We're not going back to New Orleans," Elena shook her head. She looked down to the child in her arms and gave her a warm smile. If she had her way Hope would never know the horror that came with her family, but she knew eventually they would be called back.

"We're going to have to move," she kissed the baby's brow. "Enough people have seen me around and will know there is no way I just had a baby."

"I thought we'd find a nice small town somewhere," Kol smiled, "and blend in, or one of the bigger cities."

"A young couple and their newborn baby?" Elena found she wasn't opposed the prospect. "We've got quite the lie to sell."

"I thought part of it might be true," Kol moved one hand to his pocket and lifted his fingers in front of her face. Hope's eyes tracked the movement and locked on the sparkling stone.

Elena's breath caught in her throat. She looked from the glittering diamond to Kol and then Hope. She swallowed thickly and turned her neck to meet his eyes.

"Are you serious?" She couldn't manage more than a whisper.

"Deadly," his smirk fell away.

Elena couldn't remember ever seeing him nervous before, but he was now.

"I've been carrying this around for a week, darling. I wanted to find the right time to ask, and then I got called away."

"You are serious," she gasped when he turned her around and fell to one knee.

"I have very few moments in my life when I'm serious Elena, but this is one of them, and I would take your hand but you're holding the baby," he smiled when she laughed. "I love you Elena Gilbert. For a thousand years I thought I had forgotten that feeling, but then I met you…"

"And I tried to kill you," she pointed out with a wry smile. In less than a year they had done a one hundred and eighty degree turn.

"Then you spent weeks avoiding me to make sure you didn't," his hand splayed over her hip. "You're getting me off topic though."

"I'm sorry," she pressed her lips together, "please continue."

"Like I was saying I love you, and I want to spend the rest of my unnaturally long life loving you. Will you marry me?"

"Yes…"

"Now before you say no…" his eyes widened comically. "Did I hear you right?"

"Yes," she smiled. "You're not getting hard of hearing in your old age Kol. I said yes; I will marry you. I know I don't say it enough, but I love you and I will gladly spend eternity with you."

Kol stood up and pressed a firm kiss to her lips. Every emotion he felt for her passed between them in that moment and the overjoyed motion of his mouth.

"I love you," he broke the kiss and murmured against her lips. "And I would put this ring on you right now, but…"

"I'm holding a baby," Elena grinned. Her eyes dropped to the space between them. Hope's stomach was rumbling. "And I believe she's hungry."

"I believe you're right," Kol backed up and began sorting through a diaper bag.

Elena tilted her head as her fiancé moved about the kitchen warming a bottle.

"How do you know so much about babies?" Elena arched an eyebrow.

"I don't," he tested the formula on his wrist. "I stopped at a hospital on the way back and compelled a very friendly pediatric nurse. Stopping to take care of her is what took me so long to get back."

"Then I'll forgive your long absence," Elena sat in the chair and took the bottle. She carefully pressed the nipple to Hope's lips and watched as the child began to greedily suckle at the food.

Kol pulled a chair out and sat beside her.

"It looks like you've got a reason to get out of bed again," he watched his niece feeding.

"I've had a reason to get up for a long time," Elena shifted in the chair and laid her head on his shoulder, "now I've got two."

"Careful, Elena," he pressed a teasing kiss to her hair, "someone might start to think you care."

"You know I care," she tipped her head back to meet his eyes and smiled into his kiss.

"I do."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What did you think?

**Author's Note:**

> Leave a review and let me know what you think.  
> This won't be a long story between three and five chapters at the most I think.


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